Sabina is a divorced mother, 37, who lives in Ghana, and is proprieter of a clothing store. She needs additional funding to expand her offerings and fund her child's college education.
My daughter Lisa put me on to KIVA and even started me off with a gift certificate for my (January) birthday this year.
With all the uproar around here of late, I didn't log on to the KIVA site until recently to find Sabina and invest my certificate.
People from all over the world have invested a few dollars in Sabina's venture. She requested $975, so KIVA aggregated our dollars until the goal was met and then disbursed the sum. They will also collect Sabina's repayments on her loan.
Eventually our accounts will all be repaid so that we can invest in someone else; Sabina will be more successful in business and life; and KIVA will have another success story! The default rate on KIVA microloans is 2%. Not bad when you consider the good they are doing.
If you have a few dollars lying around maybe you should consider investing in a KIVA entrepreneur too!
Peggy
