Penny Seeds

My last post mentioned Kiva, and their microlending program. I have mentioned them before in another post too. The thing is I love what they’re doing. That whole ‘teach a man to fish’ deal. I think it’s great. Helping people who are trying their best to help themselves, but need a little boost.

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I’ve never been a fan of traditional charities, because you can never be sure where the money is going. Kiva is an organization working with micro lenders world wide to help people better themselves. All of these hopeful business people are quite inspiring, and may have you wondering what’s keeping you from doing the same?

First of all you might be wondering what a ‘micro lender’ is. Micro lenders are organizations that distribute small business loans to aspiring entrepreneurs whom the banks won’t have the time of day for. Typically this occurs in poor countries where many people can’t get credit. Amazingly these loans have about a 95% repayment rate - many loan distributors even report 100% repayment from all their clients.

It’s amazing what some people can do with so little. Sometimes it skips your mind that other people do not live in lands of opportunity. Many of these individuals or families have no money, no formal education, and there are no banks willing to cater to them. It’s incredibly difficult to get credit or loans in some countries unless you already have money. Even those who are not poor, or uneducated have a hard time with it. I used to talk to a guy who lived in the Philippines a few years ago who wanted to start his own internet cafe.

Even though he had a steady job, and was well educated in his field he just could not get credit. I didn’t understand at the time, because I had a line of credit. Capital One asked me about five questions before handing over a card to me. I flat out told them I was 18 years old, had no previous credit history, no job, and within the week I had a shiny new piece of Visa plastic.

I’ve come a cross Kiva a good few times in the past, but never really took the time to see what it was about. However, I took the time to do some reading, and help sponsor someone who needed a little boost. The thing that really was interesting was that most of these people have already started establishing businesses. They’re seeking loans to expand on what they’ve already built themselves. That weighed on me a bit when I realized that somebody with no money, and no credit started their own business while I’m still working my 9 to 5 job day dreaming about it.

I have credit, I have savings, but what am I waiting for? I keep telling myself the right opportunity, but maybe I’m just procrastinating out of the fear of failure. It’s more secure to let somebody else worry about whether the business will go under. You still get paid at the end of the week no matter what your profits look like. Some people argue that the United States has too many rules, and regulations governing business that make it impossible for people to just up and start. I don’t believe that either, because license fees for my state start at about $65. Even people who make minimum wage can save up that kind of money.

People keep telling me I should start a computer repair shop, but I keep insisting the market is too saturated, and nobody wants to pay for it. Even though I can take apart, reconstruct, troubleshoot, and custom build a variety of systems in different price ranges. None of the business owners at Kiva are doing anything groundbreaking. They’re opening staples like restaurants, corner stores, and farms. Things that people always need to have, and will pay for.

By the time I was done perusing I decided to sponsor a business myself. I gave a $25 loan to a 72 year old woman in Accara, Ghana which is a small country in the western portion of Africa. She operates a hardware store that sells building materials such as roofing sheets, nails, paint, ect. She applied to Kiva for a $675 loan in order to be able to purchase more products to sell, and expand her store. She is also a member of a group in her community that guarantees repayment for each other, and help in handling their loans. As I watch Mary repay her loan, and build on her dreams it will be a constant reminder to me about what I’m not doing. Even though I have a wealth of knowledge at my finger tips, and all the tools available to me.

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