Become someone's minibank - it is not harder than giving up a couple of tens of euros.
Today’s guest blogger is named Jesper Larsson; he runs Next Century Modern design company and is also the Gothenburg Ambassador of the showcase event Pecha Kucha. On his Kiva.org page, you can see what dreamers he’s chosen to lend money to.
It is said that the world has become increasingly global. Globalization is all over the place and there is talk about global warming, a global media environment and a global economy. The latter became very evident during last autumn's financial crisis, where bad mortgages from the U.S. spread like an financial virus throughout the world. And since then there’s been a constant nagging about boring things like crisis and depression. Therefore, I thought I’d tell you about a fun activity which I think is the cherry on top of this globalized world: Using the Internet to lend money to poor dreamers in the third world through so-called microcredit.
Microlending involves giving people a chance at receiving an unsecured loan and therefore a better life. It is aimed at people who can’t get a conventional bank loan. What I like is that it’s not welfare, but simply letting poorer entrepreneurs play with your money at zero interest. A brilliant little idea that among other things has been awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize.
And combining microcredit and the Internet makes it even better. Naturally I fell head over heels for the service Kiva.org, which could be described as a cross-fertilization of Facebook, peer-to-peer, SMS-loans and aid-work.
At Kiva.org all applicants for loans are presented with a picture and reason for applying for a loan. You choose who you want to lend to at a individual level. Perhaps you’re caught by someone's life story, or you think it's just cool that someone sells Ghetto Blasters in Nigeria, or you can simply lend out money for your own sake. Studies have shown that we feel good to do good deeds and that the same pleasure centers that get kicks out of food, sex and drugs are activated in the brain. I recommend you skip the drugs and go straight micro-lending instead.
And don’t worry about you starting a new financial crisis by your loans. Unlike the Americans the world's poor are incredibly good at repaying their loans. All I have lent has been paid back, and globally the payout rate for all the million of borrowers is over 90 percent. It is rather fantastic.
So click here now and sign up for Kiva.org directly and do a good deed that makes you and the world a bit better.
Required time:
Not more than a visit to Facebook.
Cost:
From $25 and up (but you just lend out your money so it's not a cost, by definition). You can pay by Paypal or with major credit cards.
Cons:
I don’t see any immediate drawbacks to lending money to poor entrepreneurs, but one should bear in mind doing this doesn’t replace other forms of assistance. There will always be people who are so vulnerable that a loan isn’t enough, and they will still require other forms of assistance. So if you are currently supporting other organizations, you shouldn’t stop there.
Pros:
You do a classic good deed where you choose who to lend to. You get your money back when the loan is repaid. It's easier than running around with a collection plate or binders in town.
