Author Archive
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 3)
This is the final installment of a three-part article on ‘The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field.’ The first concentrated on the pros of microfinance and the second on the cons. This third part will describe what I deem to be the optimum conditions for successful microfinance.
The cons described in Part 2 of this article may come across as quite negative, but at Interactuar (in Antioquia, Colombia – my second Kiva Fellowship) I saw many being countered and microfinance working particularly effectively.
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 2)
This is the second of a three-part article on ‘The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field’. The first part concentrated on the pros. The second will focus on the cons.
Most of the cons described below demonstrate one thing; microfinance assists on a micro level but is unable to affect macro-level influences. The latter are the main reason that people are impoverished in the first place.
The Pros and Cons of Microfinance – A View From The Field (Part 1)
The article will be published in 3 parts. The first will concentrate on the pros of microfinance, the second on the cons, and the third on what I perceive to be the best conditions for successful microfinance.
Video Blog: Interactuar – A Quite Amazing Organisation
By Nick Hamilton, KF14
I have just come to the end of a 3-month Kiva Fellowship with Interactuar, Kiva’s Field Partner in the state of Antioquia, Colombia. I was blown away by this organisation. ‘The Google of Microfinance Institutions,’ I kept thinking to myself.
Why does most coffee in Colombia taste like dishwater?
I have been a big coffee drinker for some time now. As a do-it-all teenager with a large appetite for anything nocturnal, it was the powerful affects of the highly-caffeinated, instant variety that initially got me hooked. That all changed at university, however, when I first discovered the soothing delights of real, natural coffee.
Video Blog – The Life Of A Kiva Fellow
by Nick Hamilton, KF14
When it comes to blogging, a new pastime of mine, I often go a bit heavy on the word count. Not this time. This is a video blog and so I’ll let the video do the talking.
Loans In The Time Of Cholera, In Haiti
Haiti is an intriguing country, probably very misunderstood, and full of loud, lovely, wonderful people with an admirable sense of joie de vivre.
The Making Of A Kiva Christmas Song
A couple of weeks ago I found myself without internet for three days. Determined not to let this beat me (internet is often pretty essential for a Kiva Fellow) I tried to think of ways to stay productive. Naturally, the first idea that came into my head was to write a Kiva Christmas song.
Loan Officers – Kiva’s Unsung Heroes
Before beginning my placement as a Kiva Fellow, I tended to view the Kiva model simply in terms of members lending to borrowers and borrowers paying back. It was hard to envisage the intricacies of an MFI’s operations and what goes into facilitating a loan. In my eyes the MFI was the middle man; an amorphous mass that made things happen. Of course, the simple fact is that without MFIs Kiva would not exist.Of course, the simple fact is that without MFIs Kiva would not exist. They share an equal responsibility with the lenders and the borrowers in ensuring that Kiva’s mission – ‘to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty’ – is achieved.
Great Expectations, Unexpected Revelations
When Kiva asked whether I’d consider a Fellowship in the Dominican Republic, my first instinct was to head to Google. I’d never been to the Caribbean and knew very little about this small country. After my initial search, Google asked whether I’d like to view some images of the DR and lured me in with 4 or 5 thumbnails. Each contained something that doesn’t exist in my country (the UK): the sun. I don’t think I got past the first page of pictures. I sat there mesmerized by contiguous images of palm trees, white sand and idyllic emerald sea and sent my response to Kiva: “Yes!”
Okay, it wasn’t quite that simple…
By Nick Hamilton, KF13. Nick is serving as a Kiva Fellow with Esperanza International in the Dominican Republic and Haiti
