. I was notified by Kiva that I've received some repayments on my loans and have enough to make another $25 loan.
As you may remember, I started with $100 and made 4 $25 loans, and then 1 more, for a total of 5 loans. The five loans were made to women in Armenia, Pakistan, Uganda, and Moldova. Of these, one loan is currently delinquent.
I am searching now for the 6th recipient, and there are so many people I would like to loan to.
You can use filters to narrow your search, and I have narrowed mine to include only women. It is very hard to be a single woman in a third world country. Of course I don't know for sure that these women are all single, but you can sometimes tell from the description of the loan request.
I also favor those who want money for basic necessities, like sanitary toilets, an education or to start a business, like farming or for any green enterprise. I've noticed there are a lot of women who want to buy a sewing machine.
I won't loan money to pay for a wedding or for someone's husband's business, or for pesticides/insecticides or for someone trying to raise cattle in a desert environment.
I am trying to loan to as many different countries as I can, so I decided to make the loan to a married woman living in the Gaza strip with her husband and daughter. She wants to buy solar panels to deal with chronic power outages.
It may be a while til I get another chance to make a Kiva loan, since the loan terms can be a year or more, but today I pledge that if I get a full-time perm job with benefits, making another $200 in Kiva loans will be something I do after I get my first paycheck. That way, I'll have 8 outstanding loans and they will be repaid at more frequent intervals.
Kiva doings
April 20th, 2017 at 01:22 am
April 20th, 2017 at 11:42 am 1492688543
April 20th, 2017 at 06:19 pm 1492712358
April 21st, 2017 at 02:46 am 1492742784
May 3rd, 2017 at 08:19 pm 1493842754
May 3rd, 2017 at 11:12 pm 1493853178
Lucky Robin, good question. I don't get any interest back, just the principal I loaned. However, I recalled reading somewhere on the site that borrowers do pay interest, so I had to go back to the site to learn more.
Basically, interest is paid, but not to me or Kiva, but to Kiva's partners in the field.
"Yes, most borrowers on Kiva do pay interest to Kiva’s local Field Partners in some form. Kiva and Kiva lenders do not receive interest on Kiva loans.
Field Partners collect interest from borrowers because there are many expenses associated with providing small loans in developing markets, especially in rural areas. Many of Kiva’s Field Partners also provide additional services with loans, including training, financial literacy classes or health services.
Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges unreasonable interest rates, and we require Field Partners to fully disclose their rates. Kiva only partners with organizations and microfinance institutions that have a social mission to serve the poor, unbanked and underserved.
There are some 0% interest loans on Kiva, including all direct loans, which are loans that are not made through a Field Partner."