Kruse Kronicle

Tag: Kiva

  • Kiva in the New York Times

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    mwkruse
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    New York Times: Web-Based Microfinancing The idea of microfinancing — small-scale loans to the entrepreneurial-minded poor — reached the front page this fall when the Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize. But now the San Francisco-based nonprofit Kiva.org may have taken the idea a step further: with just…

  • Kiva does well, with help from friends

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    mwkruse
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    InsideBayArea.com: Kiva does well, with help from friends IF YOU HAVEN'T yet heard of Kiva.org, a San Francisco nonprofit that at just 18 months old is already the leading online microcredit site, you're about to. Its friends in Silicon Valley will make sure of that. Here's how Kiva — which means "unity" in Swahili —…

  • You can lend directly to world’s needy

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    mwkruse
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    Cincinnati Enquirer: You can lend directly to world's needy. Russell Smith of The Eagle and Child blog wrote a piece about Kiva for the Enquirer. Check it out. Way to go Russell!

  • Seasonal? (Kiva)

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    mwkruse
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    Kiva Chronicles: Seasonal? by Matthew Flannery Another, more important phenomenon, has happened to us: a pretty drastic surge in business. I wrote that, while in Toronto, I watched our user base and our loan volume double. We crossed the $1 million mark in November. The trend has only accelerated: we crossed $2 million last week.…

  • Kiva Video

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    mwkruse
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    Keeping up my string of Kiva posts, I wanted to offer you some excellent videos about Kiva. First, there is this selection from YouTube called Mavericks of the Valley. Embedding is disabled, so you must click the link and watch the 4:44 video on YouTube. This vid gives a great overview of Kiva. The second…

  • “I’m convinced” Matthew Flannery (Kiva)

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    mwkruse
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    From The Kiva Chronicles: I'm Convinced (Matthew Flannery) If you're an entrepreneur, you should sound more confident than you are. If you're a social entrepreneur, should be more inspirational than you feel. If you are an introverted social entrepreneur, you will face even more problems. ……. There's a big difference between ideas and beliefs. The…

  • KIVA Gift Certificates for Christmas

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    mwkruse
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    Looking for a unique Christmas gift that keeps on giving? Kiva gift certificates are a great option. Kiva allows individuals to make loans to specific entrepreneurs starting or expanding businesses in the developing world. You don't receive any interest on your loans, and neither does KIVA (although the local microfinance operations charge interest to the…

  • My First Kiva Loan Repaid

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    mwkruse
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    In April, I wrote a post about two businesses I lent money to through Kiva, an online microfinance business. One of those businesses has successfully paid back the loan. Here is the basic data: Mary Njeri NgangaNjeri Pig Project Partner: Women's Economic Empowerment Consort Partner Rep: Jedidah Waigwa, Martha Gitau Location: Gathiga, Kenya Activity: Rearing…

  • KIVA in Business Week

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    mwkruse
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    A Little Money Goes A Long Way is an article about Kiva in Business Week Online. (Hat Tip: Dave Ayers) Friends and neighbors have been lending one another money forever, but as the Web makes virtual neighbors of strangers, Kiva, which is Swahili for "agreement" or "unity," is harnessing the power of social networking to…

  • Is Microfinance Changing the World?

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    Is Microfinance Changing the World? Broadcast on KUOW in Seattle yesterday. (Note that Matt Flannery of Kiva is one of the guests.) Poor people in the developing world have limited access to basic financial services like credit and insurance that Americans take for granted. Microfinance promises to change all that, and in the process fight…