Kiva provides small loans to entrepreneurs, helps end global poverty

Many times I, or someone I know, has said, "If I only had the money I could start my own business".  And for us it was a dream that didn't come true.

But, what if you could help make dreams come true for people with as little as $25? What if that money was a loan that would be repaid, and their business was going to help get them out of poverty?

Kiva, a non-profit organization, supports the global community. Kiva is constantly receiving new loans for funding, and volunteers work hard to make new loan requests as fast as possible.

This week's impact:
17,784 lenders made a loan
1 loan every 19 seconds
866 gift certificates purchased
4,906 new lenders joined

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Example of how it works:
You loan $25 to change lives through Kiva to a specific low-income entrepreneur across the globe.You choose who to lend it to - a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq.

And as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It's a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone to lift themselves out of poverty.
1. It all starts with Field Partners, which are microfinance institutions operating around the world. They approve and disburse loans to an entrepreneur in their community. They take a picture of the entrepreneur and write down the entrepreneur’s story.
2. The Field Partner uploads the entrepreneur’s profile to Kiva’s website.
3. Lenders like you look at profiles and choose someone to lend to, using PayPal or credit cards.
4. Kiva provides the funds to the Field Partners.
5. Over time, the entrepreneur repays the loan. The Field Partner collects the repayments. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.
6. When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to another entrepreneur, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds to their PayPal accounts.

I hope you will consider helping entrepreneurs help themselves.

UPrinting supports and lends to Kiva. I am participating in UPrinting's blog program's Kiva Blogathon. If you are a blogger you can join UPrinting and enjoy programs like this, too.