Archive for April, 2010
The biggest Muslim populated country, women and microfinance
Although women’s life in Indonesia is drastically different from what you see about Muslim women in media, the situation can still be described as- let’s call it- challenging…
Continue Reading 30 April 2010 at 04:49 Anna Antoni 4 comments
10 Differences between Working in Microfinance and Traditional Finance
I used to work in the loan business area at the London headquarters of a major global bank. Now I get a lot of emails from friends asking me how different traditional credit and microcredit are from a worker’s point of view. I get even more emails from people who are contemplating jumping from traditional to microfinance and asking me about my personal experience.
With all those emails and conversations, and for future reference, I have compiled a list of the 10 main differences I have found between working in the two industries. This will be a whole chapter of my soon-to-be-published first novel “All You Wanted to Know About Working in Microfinance and Never Dared to Ask.”
Why am I going to Kenya?
Since we spent most of our time volunteering in developing countries, we saw a lot of poverty. From favelas in Brazil to slum settlements in South Africa to beggars in Calcutta to subsistence farmers in rural areas (including Kenya) poverty was pervasive… but it wasn’t hopeless. In the midst of poverty, we met some inspiring people… Why am I going to Kenya as a Kiva Fellow? I’m going for three reasons…
Continue Reading 29 April 2010 at 18:00 stevensgrey 22 comments
The Mongolian Wolf
Mongolia’s economy is shifting gears in a big way.
Continue Reading 28 April 2010 at 23:09 Kevin Henderson 6 comments
Art and Microfinance
When I first became a Kiva Fellow, I never imagined that one day I’d spend a cold, rainy afternoon in Bogotá discussing the merits of art-as-expression against art-for-profit with an aspiring artist and Kiva borrower.
Why would a 61 year old married father of two want to be a Kiva Fellow?
I just read the first posts by the 11th group of fellows and am itching to be moving into the field with them. Changes in my personal situation required me to postpone for a month or so, but I will be following the exploits of my mates as they jump into their tasks with both feet.
Continue Reading 27 April 2010 at 07:36 Ron Turley 9 comments
Microfinance and Violence against Women
Around the world, women continue to suffer from domestic and partner violence. Economic empowerment through microfinance is one way to reduce violence against women.
Kiva Fellowship Survival Guide
You’ve read all about what’s required to become a Kiva Fellow. Now here’s a look at what you need to actually survive a 12+ week placement*.
Continue Reading 27 April 2010 at 01:00 Nadia Anggraini 4 comments
Mongolian Gers
Currently on Kiva.org there are almost 100 loans looking for funding for personal housing expenses. The purchase of a home, and the subsequent improvements, is one of the largest household expenditure items in almost any country.
Continue Reading 27 April 2010 at 00:30 Beth Ritchey 5 comments
Cows and Microfinance: Simply Bovine
By Peter Marchant, KF10 Azerbaijan
Cows are a perfect microfinance investment, and it’s not just their perfumed smell and cuddly good looks. (more…)
P2P In Action – Lender and Borrower Connect
By Leigh Madeira, KF10 Ecuador
Seeing as it’s my final week in Ecuador, I decided to take Kiva’s commitment to P2P to the max by meeting a borrower who had actually received a loan that I personally made at the start of my Kiva adventure! After reading Jose´s profile multiple times over the past few weeks, getting to meet him in person was by far one of the coolest things I have done so far as a Kiva Fellow, not just because we shared a connection through my loan, but because Jose has a very inspirational story and is living proof that microfinance works.
Me with Jose in his store
Party for your bank
I like my bank in the US. The staff is nice, they have a lot of ATMs in New York City, they once gave me a fruit basket (long story)… But I would never think about getting together with other Wachovia customers to toast how much we like banking there. Yet that’s exactly what a number of Alidé (Kiva’s partner in Benin) clients do regularly. (more…)
Death-Defying Repayment in Vietnam
It’s funny how death makes a person keenly aware of their responsibilities. You think about all the wrongs you need to right, the people with whom you need to make amends, and the debts you need to repay. You’re lucky if you’ve never faced death. If you live in a developed country like the United States, things like tuberculosis, diarrhoeal diseases and stomach cancer don’t make it on the list of top 10 leading causes of death in your country. But if you live in a developing country like Vietnam, your fate is different. I recently met a Kiva borrower who was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The 6-month survival rate of stomach cancer patients diagnosed in its later stages is less than 15%.
Despite her recent surgery, Pham Thi Dieu, continues her daily life in Dong Anh Province, just outside of Hanoi, Vietnam in defiance of her stomach cancer. Dieu and her husband continue to work in a family member’s construction business. Her husband does the labor, and she resells construction materials and handles the books. The women in Dieu’s village support her and surround her with love and encouragement. Because health is risky business in Vietnam, Dieu is realistic about her chances of survival, but “I still have to work to help my family, take care of my two boys…and besides, I still have 6 more months of repayment on my loan,” she states rather matter-of-factly. I showed Dieu the photos of the 12 lender profiles on Kiva who were supporting her loan. “Well, I have to get better now, don’t I? I owe a responsibility to these people as well.”
With Dieu’s permission, I share her story and the attached video as a reminder of the hope and connection you Kiva lenders give when you honor the lives and businesses of borrowers through the loans you make. You can also watch videos of the loan process in Vietnam and meet the different credit officers who make it happen by following these links.
What do Field Partners do?
Not sure about how the money you lend on Kiva actually gets into the hands of entrepreneurs in the developing world? Learn about Kiva’s Field Partners and the work they do in the field in this post by KF11 fellow James Allman-Gulino.
Continue Reading 25 April 2010 at 00:01 James Allman-Gulino 4 comments
Kiva Lebanon: War and Microfinance
In Lebanon, political uncertainty continues to impact the lives and businesses of the nation’s micro and small entrepreneurs.
Continue Reading 24 April 2010 at 03:16 Nishita Leave a comment
Kiva takes on Google?
Kiva goes where Google stops.
Transportation, Microfinance and the Environment
Transportation has been an integral part of my travels in South America. I have been in cars, vans, buses, scooters, motorcycles, trains, boats, planes, even a bus transported by a boat and of course I have walked.
Meet a Loan Officer!
By Leah Gage, KF10 Ukraine
When you make a loan to a Kiva borrower all the way in Kenya or Cambodia or Ukraine, do you ever think to yourself, “I wonder who took her picture?” Do you ever wonder, “Did someone ask her if she was okay with going up on Kiva?” Have you ever asked the question, “How am I getting repaid on this loan, anyway?”
Mongolia’s Lunar New Year
Often on the Kiva website, lenders will see entrepreneurs looking to borrow money to stock their business shelves for an upcoming holiday. In the United States we see retailers plan for the Christmas shopping season, in Central and South America businesses prepare for Carnaval sales and in Mongolia one of the biggest holidays that small businesses look forward to is Tsagaan Sar, the Lunar New Year.
Continue Reading 21 April 2010 at 23:57 Beth Ritchey 3 comments
The Many Faces of Microfinance
By Meg Gray, KF10 Costa Rica
One of the benefits of being a Kiva Fellow for more than one placement is getting to see how different MFI’s (microfinance institutions) with very different models all fit under the microfinance umbrella. There is no one-size-fits-all methodology. I just finished up my second full placement as a Kiva Fellow and along the way I also visited a third MFI for a week. For those of you just getting started with microfinance or for those who are interested in seeing the diversity amongst Kiva’s partner’s, I thought a brief rundown of a few MFI models side by side might be interesting. So here I go (ordered chronologically)
Model #1 CEPRODEL (Managua, Nicaragua)- Individual Loans only
One of CEPRODEL's branch office is inside a stall in a main market
From a head office in Managua, CEPRODEL runs 16 branch offices throughout western Nicaragua. All of the loans they offer are individual loans and require formal collateral. The work with a wide range of clients with a portfolio balanced between male/female and urban/rural. In addition to loans, some branch offices offer voluntary small business management trainings when the demand exists for this type of program. CEPRODEL also constructs housing cooperatives throughout the country and is an active leader in Nicaragua when it comes to housing issues. (more…)
Should you lend via Kiva’s for-profit Field Partners?
By Rosalind Piggot, KF10, Tajikistan
Following the recent New York Times article questioning the interest rates charged in microfinance, I looked back at recent blogs by Kiva Fellows about interest rates and sustainability. In comments on those blogs and on Kiva’s lender team sites, a lot of people were asking: “Do I want to lend via a for-profit institution?” and similar questions. (more…)
..did she just say, “The “C” word?
Yes! And I’ll say again!
Consumption! Consumption! Consumption!
But don’t worry, I’m here to tell you that Consumption is not a dirty word!
Before I became a Kiva Fellow, I was a Kiva Lender, and whenever I saw a consumption loan, I admit, I “clicked” away. I judged these loans, labeled them, and stuck them in a box called, “Lame: borrowers lack initiative.” My thinking was, “Why don’t borrowers just concentrate on improving their business, and then they could save-up their profits for X.”
The problem: I was looking at micro-entrepreneurships from a developed world perspective.
So…
Kiva Lebanon: Lebanon without the Lebanese?
The ladies (plus gent) that lunched!
As I strolled casually down this major city street I savored the sweet smells of spices as I walked by small grocery shops, admired the dangling gold earrings and embroidered “saris” of women giggling as they strutted down the sidewalk, and edged closer than I normally would to passersby hoping to catch a few phrases in my mother tongue of Bengali. This would seem like a typical day for a Kiva Fellow cruising the crowded streets of Kolkata, but strangely enough Kiva does not yet work in India, and it took me a few surreal moments to remember that I was still in Beirut. Little did I know that on this seemingly normal Sunday I would find myself in Beirut’s multi-ethnic shopping and food district of “Dora” to celebrate the Sri Lankan New Year with my cleaning lady and her friends, also service workers from South Asia living in Lebanon.
A South Asian supermarket and of course a Western Union for money transfers!
Which do you prefer: empowering borrowers or low interest rates?
I mentioned in a previous blog that the field partner I have been working with, ADIM in Managua, Nicaragua, hosts education seminars for their clients. Last Friday I had the opportunity to participate in their Human Development course.
ADIM publishes various workbooks for these courses, holds very regular classes, and takes the education portion of their role very seriously. From the very beginning I have been impressed by the social aspect of this microfinance institution, but yet, this role they take is the same reason their interest rates are higher. And high interest rates are under scrutiny. I was curious to see the real benefit.
Continue Reading 20 April 2010 at 02:45 Monica Ann Bernadette 2 comments
An Appropriate Interest Rate: The Character of the Microfinance Industry
By Dennis A. Espinoza, KF10, El Salvador
When I first heard about microfinance I saw it as a great way to make reliable returns. The emphasis on the social returns was great and the possibility of financial returns was even better! I’m in!
Turns out it’s not that simple.
A recent New York Times article as well as other news like a recent initial public offering have stirred an old debate. Essentially that comparatively limited borrower options, high interest rates, low default rates and an estimated total asset base of over $20 billion may be fertile ground for excessive profits. An important concern.
So how do we figure out what is an “appropriate” rate of return? Or, in other words, what is a reasonable interest rate?
Continue Reading 19 April 2010 at 18:49 espinoza8 11 comments
Building Poverty Museums
Just over a week ago, several Kiva staff members and Kiva Fellows (myself included) joined the president of Kenya, the prime minister of Zambia, the queen of Spain, the princess of the Netherlands, the former president of Peru, “inventor of micro-credit” Muhammad Yunus, and over a thousand others at the Africa-Middle East Microfinance Conference in Nairobi.
Not surprisingly, Muhammad Yunus was consistently the most interesting speaker throughout the four-day event (more…)
A Story from the Field, but from a Distance
In most ways, Tuesday was a pretty average day as a Kiva Fellow. I spent a few hours working with Bob, the Kiva Coordinator at new field partner Hekima. We reviewed how Kiva implementation is going at the institution and tried to resolve a few technicalities. We drafted some new templates and a manual, tools that will help the partnership scale-up and evolve from pilot phase to active phase. Bob updated me on his plans to train a second Hekima branch on Kiva’s processes, and invited me to come along. What was not average is that I had to decline. Bob works in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and due to ongoing security concerns in the region, Kiva staff and Fellows are not allowed to visit.
Ignorance is bliss?
By Carlos Cruz Montaño, KF10 Guatemala
Have you read cartoons before understanding what they really meant? Ignorance is bliss from Calvin & Hobbes is definitely one of those cartoons for me. I worked as a design engineer before and in many occasions I thought I was asking a yes/no question but it never turned out to be that simple. You have to approach problems knowing the basic principles, look carefully at the details, make decisions and learn from your mistakes. As an engineer, the product of my work was an object and I needed technical knowledge; as a Kiva Fellow, I work on a process that involves many within an organization and I need to know the surrounding issues and understand the environment they are working in.
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the Itsy-Bitsy Spider climbed up the spout again…
This song always comes to mind when I meet clients who seem to be trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, loan dependence, and over-indebtedness. Meeting these clients makes me sad and disappointed. But other clients inspire me infinitely.
Continue Reading 16 April 2010 at 20:21 Kati Mayfield 5 comments
