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Fastlane Team @ Kiva.org

andviv

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ItsMyLife

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andviv

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I think I'd go with Option A here :thumbsup:
done. $25 lent on behalf of the Fastlane team.

who's gonna help fund the other one??? ;)

who's gonna partner with me in this loan??? ;)
 

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Just placed another one Kiva - Lucila Konturnina Ramos Torres

I love being able to fund these businesses, I really belive that empowering people in these countries that have a stake in their economy and are building something is great way to not only help them but the whole societies where they live.

Also, I placed 15 loans since I joined and got zero defaults until now :icon_super:
 

ItsMyLife

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done. $25 lent on behalf of the Fastlane team.

who's gonna help fund the other one??? ;)

who's gonna partner with me in this loan??? ;)


Of course we will! We'll contribute our part just as soon as I get home to my partner in crime. But since we can only do one at a time:

contribute to Option B
or
partner up in the contrubution to Option A?

:smxB:
 

wildambitions

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I have had some of my loan returned... I was waiting until I had more major of a contribution available. I think I need to go visit the site to find out more about the combined efforts of the team... details I was unaware of.
 
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GlobalWealth

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I just sent my request to join.
 
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Runum

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Bump for newbies. This is a cool way to help entrepreneurs all over the world.
 

Runum

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Wow, Kiva says all loans are funded at this time.
 

sswift

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this is such a great idea! my father always told me to pay myself first, my mom always told me to pay charity after. I was never to prone to the latter half. I never felt like I could see my money doing anything. Kiva changes everything! I dont have to donate alot, but I directly see the influence of my money. It's great! signing up right now! thanks for the insight!
 
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andviv

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From our fastlane team in Kiva.org:

Number of Team Members 25
Number of Loans 59
Number of Loans per Member 2.4
Total Amount Loaned $2,150
 

Runum

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MJ DeMarco

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I really need to get on there ... I've had money sitting in the account doing nothing. The first loan I made paid me back in full.
 

Jonleehacker

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Just made my first loan last week:

Kiva - C2577 Abizeranye Group from Rwanda is repaying a Kiva loan

I forgot about this thread, so I'll have to check out the Fastlane group.

One thing that I thought about when doing my loan was that I think Kiva should be setup to pay nominal interest to their lenders.

I would like to see my initial deposit amount grow, even if only 1 or 2 % a year, so that the power of my lending can grow and affect more people.

Since most of the loans do get paid off, I think the people who are receiving them could afford the extra 1%.

The fact that there is no return makes it a lot closer to charity - nothing wrong with that, but it just wasn't the experience I was expecting. I think enlightened capitalism works better than charity.

Anyone else have thoughts on the Kiva model?
 

MJ DeMarco

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Anyone else have thoughts on the Kiva model?
I agree -- it isn't microfinance but charity. I though there would be a return on the money's when I first joined. Jon you just exposed an opportunity and yes, even 1% return would compel more loans. 1% is better than the .02 money market return. Yet, the model is helping those in need.
 
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Phantom309

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I just joined the team at Kiva.org a couple of weeks ago. I'm actually heading over there today to find someone to help. I think it serves a great cause and I'm proud to be a part of it.
 

andviv

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well, it seems the business model is in demand... a co-worker told me the same... he felt the returns (as low as 1% interest) could finance the organization AND provide incentives to "investors/donors".

A small glitch is that paying interests would probably void the "charitable gift deduction" that many love to have...
 

CommonCents

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I was just in Miami Beach last week for a social investing conference and yes, micro-finance has pretty high interest rates (20-80%). It was interesting that many companies will only loan to women, because they found out they were a much better risk, men spent the money on booze and other women. LOL.

Fonkoze is one microfinance lender. Worldwide lending is fairly sophisticated. I found out one company has about a billion bucks out in microfinance and lending to small/med enterprises (SME's) they callem.

Zafen.org is a new one focusing on funding entrepreneurs in Haiti.

The new model is trending this way to create more sustainable communities, teaching them how to fish and financing their fishing equipment, instead of just continually giving them fish.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Just made 4 loans today, all women in Africa.
 

andy

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I'm looking forward to joining Kiva myself actually, found it a while back. Just getting myself going again and expanding then I shall start spreading the wealth :D
 

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