For several years now, I’ve been an avid supporter of Kiva.org and the micro-lending community in general. So when I read about MicroPlace.com on the Private Sector Development Blog I immediately became a member. I don’t have a lot of money to “invest” here right now (what with the wedding coming up) but I am definitely going to keep in touch.
As some of you might know, Kiva.org has experienced explosive growth (they raise about $1million every 12 days) with their model of collecting small contributions from people on the internet and investing them into micro loans. When the microloan is paid back, you get your money back – but with no interest. It definitely feels much more productive and is more fun (you get to choose who you want to give money to) than donating. Check out my Kiva page here.
With MicroPlace.com, you get to truly invest your money with the a microlending organization and get some interest back (1.5% – 2% per year). Yes, the interest is small, and you can easily beat it by opening a CD at any US retail bank, but where is the fun in that?
One Comment
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor