Logging on for Microlending

In recent years, microfinance has become increasingly common as a tool to combat poverty. Now, it seems that organizations like Kiva, an online lending site, are transforming the way microloans are granted. Kiva, self-proclaimed as the world’s first online microlending opportunity, allows individuals to loan money to specific entrepreneurs in the developing world, thereby facilitating one-to-one connections made much less costly because of the Internet. Kiva’s model for microlending has proven popular thus far, with the organization having funded 26,741 loans totaling $17,287,735 from 182,607 different lenders. While concerns about the effectiveness and long-term impact of microfinance are valid and should be explored, the online lending approach employed by Kiva is an innovative example of the power of technology in poverty alleviation and, even further, could change how individuals give donations in the future. To read more on this subject, click here. To find out more about Kiva, visit their website here.