This summer the Politics and Government Department set up an account with Kiva. Kiva is a microlending organization that allows individuals to make small loans to businesses in less developed parts of the world.
The total amount that people want is rather small--around $1000--and usually toward creating or expanding a small family business, like a restaurant or auto repair shop. numerous individuals make small contributions toward any one loan, which both limits the risk and helps create more of a network of donors.
Politics and Government started our account with $100, and Professor Fields asked his summer students in Introduction to Comparative Politics to choose which country and applicant they wanted to support. You can find out about who they chose here.
What I like about Kiva is that while any interest on the loan goes to cover overhead, the principal itself is paid back to the original lender. So if all goes well, we'll have our hundred bucks back, and can reinvest it. To date, the repayment rate at Kiva is over 99%.
We'll look to grow our account in the near future, and Student Body President Hart Edmonson '08 and I have also talked about expanding this further across the student body. Stay tuned.
