Author Archive
Governments in microfinance: good or bad?
Since Evo Morales and the Movement Towards Socialism came to power in 2006, Bolivian microfinance institutions (MFIs) have worried that the government will intervene in the industry, to the detriment of private sector providers. Indeed such concerns have become a common theme across the region, with increased government involvement in microfinance in Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.
What´s the difference between microcredit and subprime lending?
It´s a loan for someone who was unable to get a loan from a mainstream bank because they didn´t have the necessary paperwork or their income was too low or too volatile. The borrower is likely from a marginalized group, perhaps a migrant family. The loan costs more than a bank loan would cost, but the alternatives for this borrower are even more costly. The lending institution might hold these loans on their balance sheets, or they might sell them on to someone else…
So what are we talking about here, a typical Kiva loan or a subprime mortgage? Is there anything inherently different between the two?
What’s the point of Kiva?
By Adam Kemmis Betty, KF10 Bolivia
CGAP’s annual Microfinance Funder Survey shows us that Kiva’s impact in financial terms upon the microfinance industry is – to put it politely – tiny. In fact, the combined total of institutional and individual investors, including pension funds, commercial banks and online lending platforms such as Kiva, only amounted to 7% of total funding for the microfinance industry in 2008. The big players are still development banks (such as the World Bank) and development agencies (such as USAID). As a Kiva lender, I found this rather disheartening. (more…)
A day in the life of a Kiva Roamer Fellow
By Adam Kemmis Betty, KF9, Bolivia
With this latest batch of volunteers, Kiva thought they’d try out something new: dedicate two Kiva Fellows to borrower verification (checking that the information posted on Kiva is correct for a random sample of borrowers) at a handful of different institutions. While my fellow roamer Bryan Goldfinger has been charging around Peru, eating guinea pigs and tearing up the dance floor wherever he goes, I’ve been making my way (in a far more understated manner) across central Bolivia.
To give you a taste of this glamorous lifestyle, I thought I would share my latest bus journey, from bustling, tropical lowland Santa Cruz to the laid back and refreshingly temperate city of Cochabamba. (more…)
How Kiva helps the poor deal with life’s uncertainties
By Adam Kemmis Betty, KF9 Bolivia
Those frustrated with the health-and-safety of Europe and North America often celebrate the apparent appetite for risk in countries such as Bolivia, where you carry your machete into the local bar or cram a dozen people into the back of your car without fear of reprimand.
Bolivia's famous "Death Road" has even become a tourist attraction
In fact, this tolerance for risk is largely borne out necessity rather than any deep-seated cultural predilection. The Bolivian poor spend a great deal of energy trying to minimise the risks and uncertainties in the lives. (more…)
In search of Kiva’s highest microloan
By Adam Kemmis Betty, KF9, Bolivia
Kiva’s website provides a wealth of statistics for curious lenders, but one unfortunate and disappointingly uncontroversial omission is the altitude at which the loan was disbursed. With the average borrower living at 4,150 m (13,615 ft) above sea level, I’d be willing to bet that Pro Mujer Bolivia would be a good place to start in any search for Kiva’s highest microloan (any challenges from Peru or Kyrgyzstan?).
On top of the world: El Alto, Bolivia
