My new business partner is a 25 year old mother of two girls from Uganda and is into Construction Supplies business. And guess what? There are 24 more business partners with her each of whom have loaned (no invested!) to alleviate poverty from her life!
The concept of micro finance or micro credit was pioneered by the 2006 Peace Nobel Laureate, Dr. Mohammed Yunus of Bangladesh and is taken a step further by the founders of kiva.org. Since its inception last year this website has financed or in the midst of financing ~14,000 poor entrepreneurs around the world and giving them an opportunity to start a new and better life and in the process making the world a better place.
Nonetheless, it has given me an opportunity as well, to serve the poor. Here is a scenario in perspective. I have decided on lending $25 each t0 two businesses every month for the next five years. The loan repayment term is mostly 6 months and so assuming that I get back my first months' investment at the end of 6 months (which I don't doubt a bit given the startling default rate of about 0.21%), and I recycle it into a new business every month thereafter, I would have helped 660 businesses to kick start at the end of 5 years. What else could be more gratifying than this? I mean, whats $50 per month to me or anyone for that matter? Its' skipping 4 Little Apple Brewery sittings or, 3 outings for lunch or, 2 nights of restaurant dinners or, even 1 "impulsive" shopping for groceries at Walmart! Well, I did my math.
The concept of micro finance or micro credit was pioneered by the 2006 Peace Nobel Laureate, Dr. Mohammed Yunus of Bangladesh and is taken a step further by the founders of kiva.org. Since its inception last year this website has financed or in the midst of financing ~14,000 poor entrepreneurs around the world and giving them an opportunity to start a new and better life and in the process making the world a better place.
Nonetheless, it has given me an opportunity as well, to serve the poor. Here is a scenario in perspective. I have decided on lending $25 each t0 two businesses every month for the next five years. The loan repayment term is mostly 6 months and so assuming that I get back my first months' investment at the end of 6 months (which I don't doubt a bit given the startling default rate of about 0.21%), and I recycle it into a new business every month thereafter, I would have helped 660 businesses to kick start at the end of 5 years. What else could be more gratifying than this? I mean, whats $50 per month to me or anyone for that matter? Its' skipping 4 Little Apple Brewery sittings or, 3 outings for lunch or, 2 nights of restaurant dinners or, even 1 "impulsive" shopping for groceries at Walmart! Well, I did my math.
