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Last weeks I was flipping through the channels and came across a discussion panel on C-SPAN discuss Bill Clinton’s new book, Giving. While many of them had great things to say, I was most interested in the discussions about a website called Kiva.org.

While they have been around for a while, and have been getting their fair amount of press, I was not aware of them until that book tour. I haven’t watched alot of TV for the last couple years…

What Kiva.org does is connect individuals like you and me with entrepreneurs around the globe through field partners in the different countries. That way as a group, we can loan a little as $25 to help fund a project for an entrepeneur in another country, and make a huge impact on their family and the community around them.

Last week I started my first loans picking 4 entrepreneurs from the Kiva.org site.

One is a woman in the Ukraine near the Hungary border that sells souvenirs. She is getting a loan to expand her inventory and increase her sales.

Another woman owns a beauty salon in Paraquay, and is expanding to a second location. Here loan is for the equipment and supplies she needs for the second location.

The other two loans are to men. Both are bakers.

The first is a baker in Azerbaijan, his loan is to buy a new kneeding machine to increase production.

The second is a baker in Mexico, his loan is for more ingredients.

This is a great opportunity to help other people, and unlike donations, continue to help people. As the laon a repaid, they can be recycled to help other people by loaning the money again. If you ever decided to stop loaning through Kiva.org, you also have the option of withdrawing your money once the loan completes.

My goal is to do 1000 loans within the next three years, and 2000 loans within five years.

I am planning to do 8 loans per month.

If you would like to learn more about Kiva, you can visit their site:

Kiva.org