Why Do We Lend?
9 June 2010 at 08:00 Yonnie 4 comments
By Iyanna Holmes
KF11, Liberia
Two weeks ago I traveled to Gbarnga, Liberia, a town about 100 miles northeast of Monrovia. Because the Local Enterprise Assistance Program (LEAP) is expecting an increase in the amount of loans that they are allowed to post on Kiva, more branches must be trained in how to do Kiva. But before they can learn the how, I must explain the what. This can be a somewhat difficult task when much of my audience is not familiar with the idea of e-commerce, let alone e-lending. After showing the group of loan officers the Kiva website, a video explaining how Kiva works, and telling them where Kiva works, a question was posed by one of the loan officers that I wasn’t expecting:
Why?
I was caught off guard by this question. After immersing myself in all things Kiva, and reading countless microfinance, poverty alleviation, and development blogs and publications, I was prepared to answer a lot of questions, but none as basic as this one. Why do we lend? Because we can! Since my trip to Gbarnga, I have heard this question repeated by other loan officers. And the more I think about it, I begin to realize that maybe the answer to this question is not that simple. Maybe it is deeply personal and maybe it differs for every Kiva lender.
So Kiva lenders, help me to be better prepared to answer this question the next time it is posed. Why do you lend on Kiva.org?
And for those who are not yet Kiva lenders, I have an even better question for you: Why Not?
Iyanna Holmes is a Kiva Fellow working with Local Enterprise Assistance Program (LEAP) in Monrovia, Liberia. Join the LEAP Lending Team. There are borrowers from Liberia with LEAP, and many other entrepreneurs from around the world, who you can help by making a loan on the Kiva site.
Like this:
Entry filed under: Africa, blogsherpa, KF11 (Kiva Fellows 11th Class), Liberia. Tags: Iyanna Holmes.
1. omaar mohamed | 16 May 2011 at 02:43
for me i suggest that we lend becouse
1.to help other people who are need to help them.
2. we expect them interest rate from them
3. after that they may try to invest and get rich
then we find aprosperious people in our country and our continent as whole
thank you members
2. Shirley | 10 June 2010 at 18:18
I lend because it feels right. In the US of A, we are so accustomed to “getting what we want, when we want it” – instant gratification. It is so far from most of the world to live like this. I say, spread the wealth. The amounts are so small compared to what the borrower gets in return making the return on investment awesome!
3. macevebo | 10 June 2010 at 10:40
Thank you for your post and I hope you are enjoying Liberia!
I lend because:
1) I can afford to, not a choice everyone has.
2) I want to make a difference in the fight against poverty.
3) I believe Kiva facilitates this nicely
4) I believe it works
5) I love the borrowers’ stories.
4) I look for unusual features in the description or something that makes me feel connected (it really could be anything!)
4. Jeff | 10 June 2010 at 09:57
Hi, Iyanna. Good question.
I lend because I like to help people. Of course, I also lend because I can, that being a reflection on my fortunate standard of living, but I don’t look upon that as a reason. On the contrary, I could lend more but choose not to.