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KIVA - Small Loans That Make a Big Difference!
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend money directly to entrepreneurs living in impoverished communities world-wide.
Kiva enables people to invest as little as $25 towards an entrepreneur's start-up costs or expansion capital, giving them an opportuinity to create a business and lift themselves out of poverty.
Kiva helps underprivileged individuals make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community.
Kiva posts a picture of each loan recipient, so that contributors can see who they are helping, and learn their story through their business description. Kiva Field Partners post updates on each business throughout the loan term, and lenders can post replies, asking questions about the business, or expressing their encouragement for the entrepreneur.
1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using Paypal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.
2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, they also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur's chances of success.
3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders.
4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.
The diagram below shows how money gets from you to a developing-world entrepreneur, and back.
