tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59035246211623290242024-10-04T23:20:19.276-04:00My Kiva BlogAdventures in MicrofinanceRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-4109562999487691502010-04-09T07:34:00.000-04:002010-04-09T07:34:18.181-04:00Friday GoatTo make up for not having one last week, here's three.
It's like a peanut butter sandwich of goats!Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-71687206190421604482010-04-08T20:12:00.000-04:002010-04-08T20:12:22.457-04:00ProverbsKiva's Twitter is in large part a proverb-sharing device. There's too much inspiration and too little Don Rickles for my taste, but that seems to be how people communicate in this milieu.
They evidently aren't getting these things off the top of their head, because they want you to contribute. Here's a form.
I've already offered my contribution:
"I teach the truth to the youth.&Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-9552077728589727642010-04-06T20:31:00.000-04:002010-04-06T20:31:29.160-04:00App!Now you fancy types with your high-falutin iPhones never have to be away from Kiva. Here's the Kiva Alerts app. It is, and I quote, "a super quick application that allows you to check the latest loan requests on Kiva.org. Loan requests on Kiva.org get fulfilled very quickly and we update open loan requests every few minutes so that you can find the loans of your interest quickly as Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-42449822817522140452010-04-05T19:01:00.001-04:002010-04-05T20:44:22.898-04:00Relevant to My InterestLiveMint had a comment about the main microfinance issue of the day: interest rates.
Microfinance proponents such as Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus have objected to these high rates. But Yunus’ formula of a less than 10% interest rate spread for an MFI to be in the green zone of socioeconomic acceptability has had few takers other than Grameen itself. Mexico’s Banco Compartamos, for instanceRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-26956671400684407592010-04-04T21:19:00.000-04:002010-04-04T21:19:26.414-04:00Outpacing, OutsourcingJulia's outpacing me to an embarrassing degree. A really embarrassing degree, actually. But it's not a contest, right? RIGHT?!
I haven't watched this yet, but it might be interesting. How about you watch it first and let me know if I should bother.
Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-37722555271860974822010-03-31T20:37:00.001-04:002010-03-31T20:55:53.982-04:00MisleadingIs Kiva actually misleading? Here's another disillusionment victim who thinks so. And once you get past the fact that this thing is on a site that's about 60% web ads, and the fact that they split up a 492-word piece into two pages so you have to look at all the ads twice, there's still not much of a point.
I was watching one of my favorite channels recently, USA...Wait, what? Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-1932900397636923972010-03-29T19:12:00.000-04:002010-03-29T19:12:18.244-04:00A Dissenting VoiceThis guy hates Kiva. Basically it comes down to interest rates and "neoliberalism," and one of those critiques is probably reasonable.
Add to this the fact that there appear to be no controls on interest rates even contemplated, and the fact that the first world neoliberal braintrusts who love this model so much are treating the high interest rates like the dirty little secret of Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-17594656946205401462010-03-26T07:53:00.000-04:002010-03-26T07:53:24.483-04:00Friday GoatThis goat is cleverly disguised as a cow, so that it might learn their cowish secrets.
Barnyard intrigue!Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-85989996965271770122010-03-25T19:51:00.001-04:002010-03-26T07:52:19.216-04:00WokaiAnother one! I might have to work up a checklist for the Kivaesque. In fact, I'll do that right now. If you're a Kivaesque microfinance organization, please put a check next to each of the following characteristics that applies to your non-profit organization:
Personal profiles of loans recipients
Green color scheme
Botanical logo
One word name that means something meaningful inRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-30431105254822488262010-03-23T17:21:00.000-04:002010-03-23T17:21:12.322-04:00Loan #4: 5 De Junio GroupHere's the 5 De Junio Group from Bolivia.
This is a good one, based on several elements of my half-formed notions of how microfinance works. Half-formed might be generous, actually.
It's a group of entrepreneurs, which generally works out better than an individual.
The interest rate is reasonable. This is a pretty contentious issues among people who worry about this kind of thing - Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-41947959593520895382010-03-22T18:43:00.002-04:002010-03-22T19:07:29.296-04:00United ProsperityMan, these organizations - collectively known as The Kivaesque - are popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Except these are special mushrooms that have innovative solutions to the problems of the developing world.
Last time, it was Vittana, which is like Kiva but for education (and my man Jose Maria Muños Vera still needs $170, by the way). Today we have United Prosperity (Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-102508313268662122010-03-19T07:24:00.001-04:002010-03-19T07:24:35.434-04:00Friday Goat, featuring PonyToday, a goat deals with equine intransigence.
"Hey, man. Get up. Let's go get some apples. You OK? You're not saying anything. Are you a little horse?"Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-62567595085134897962010-03-18T19:48:00.005-04:002010-03-22T18:44:32.433-04:00VittanaYou know what they say: Failure is an orphan, but success has a million websites that look just like it.
The Kiva model has been adopted lock, stock, and leaf-bearing logo by an outfit called Vittana (hat-tip to TechCrunch). It's exactly the same thing, except that instead of helping various categories of entrepreneur, it helps students.
It's actually kind of disorienting - you Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-59289275984543361132010-03-17T20:06:00.002-04:002010-03-18T19:53:18.474-04:00DoughLoan repayment time! It's like payday, except smaller and more exotic.
My first ever loan, the one to the venerable Bancocomunal Nacer, is now 50% paid off. That's almost half! You know, I read somewhere (somewhere on the Kiva forums, if you want to be all specific about it) that group loans are better than individual ones. Something about the social pressure of a group Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-78529354742271761062010-03-15T19:58:00.002-04:002010-03-18T19:52:49.083-04:00U-S-A!!!One of the appeals of using through Kiva is the exotic flavor of the lending options. Browsing through the list of recipients is an education in the world's lesser known nations. I mean, Kyrgyzstan? I had to look up three times how to spell it, and I'm still pretty sure I got it wrong. I did learn that Kyrgyzstan is the Switzerland is Central Asia, and that's exactly the Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-58822931241243597822010-03-12T07:38:00.002-05:002010-03-18T19:52:28.165-04:00Friday=GoatIt's Friday, and I think we all deserve a goat. So here you goat:Please note: Baby goats have adorable fuzzy bell bottoms.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-19627111442500029872010-03-10T19:30:00.001-05:002010-03-18T19:52:11.648-04:00Loan #3: Kob LunhPlease meet Cambodia's Kob Lunh. That's her husband on the right.
Kob Lunh needed 500 dollars American, which is, according to my genius calculations, equivalent to about 2091418.20 Cambodia Riels. Give or take.
The money is going to be used "To buy two cows for breeding." I don't want to get puerile, but I hope she realizes that there has to be a bull in there somewhere for Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-25421662748258171192010-03-08T20:03:00.001-05:002010-03-18T19:51:22.641-04:00It's Not A Contest, But . . .Not everyone lending on Kiva is a lone wolf like me, playing by his own rules and daring The Man to do something about it. Some prefer the squishy embrace of the like-minded to the wind-swept loneliness that is my only companion, and those people band together into lending communities. The way Kiva arranges the list of these groups - alphabetically in order of money - leads me to Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-78970688999517526042010-03-03T18:48:00.003-05:002010-03-18T19:56:52.276-04:00Loan #2: Sendenbadam SodvooSo, after getting six dollars and twenty five cents (American) from the ol' Bancocomunal, I was ready to make another loan. Once again, I'm not afraid to confront the internet - the whole dang Internet - with the motivational power of my own self interest.
So here's loan recipient number two, Mongolian water merchant Sendenbadam Sodvoo.
She's got (from left to right) a shaggy pony, an Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-90859717329288461652010-03-01T19:50:00.002-05:002010-03-18T19:50:33.190-04:00The Score"Charity" is derived from the Latin word caritas, which means "charity." That's it for the fact portion of this post. The rest is uninformed cynicism.
I'm wary of charities. I have a feeling that it's a matter of perspective. Ripping someone off when you're pretending to help orphans seems so much worse than employing any of the various other pretexts for getting at Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-68325294168982563882010-02-28T20:01:00.004-05:002010-03-18T19:56:22.434-04:00Loan #1: Bancocomunal NacerI don't remember exactly how I picked my first loan. It was, like, three months ago, and a lot's happened since then. How can I be expected to recall what I did with my twenty five bucks all the way back before the Superbowl? And the Puppy Bowl.
So, long story that I don't remember short, I picked this one - the Bancocomunal Nacer. It was a big loan. 106 people, and 105 of Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-32195087934112075142010-02-28T10:25:00.003-05:002010-03-18T19:55:01.089-04:00FunWhy Kiva? Here's why I picked it, and please note that the emphasis on my personal convenience and amusement means I'm being honest:
Microloans work better than charity. That's what they tell me, anyway. I seem to recall doing some research back when I signed up, but I don't remember specifics. Maybe I should redo that research. And then blog about it!
Kiva is Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903524621162329024.post-24758816665142099892010-02-25T18:18:00.004-05:002010-03-18T19:55:13.614-04:00An ExplanationAfter years of never doing nothin' for nobody - in fact, actually doing everything I could to make life worse for other people - I decided to change it up like Scrooge on Christmas morning and start buying geese for everyone. Metaphorically.
In making a choice for my metaphorical goose-chute, I settled on Kiva, an organization that facilitates microloans to entrepreneurs in other countriesRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16205825004111276799noreply@blogger.com1