Looking to start or expand a business, but you don’t have the capital? What an opportunity!
Whether you are a 2CO vendor wanting to expand, or just looking to start your own business, there is always one hurdle that has to be cleared. That hurdle, is being able to secure a loan. Depending on where in the world you reside, the interest on a loan can be anywhere from 4 to 100 percent.
Kiva has a solution that is working. They have given “hope and opportunity” to the developing world.
www.kiva.org lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you have sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back
The way that it works is quite simple. First the lender picks a business and makes a loan using their credit card. Then Kiva transfers funds to local partners and the partners transfer loans to each business. Over time, the partner collects repayments and provides business updates that can be viewed at www.kiva.org. Finally, the funds are returned to the lender and the lender has the option to withdraw the funds or re-loan them.
This is a great platform for lending money to the developing world and a great opportunity for any 2Checkout vendor to expand.
Nicholas D. Kristof, an OP-ED columnist for the New York Times wrote:
For those readers that ask me what they can do to help fight poverty, one option is to sit down at your computer and become a microfinancier. That’s what I did recently. From my laptop in New York, I lent $25 each to the owner of a TV repair shop in Afghanistan, a baker in Afghanistan, and a single mother running a clothing shop in the Dominican Republic. I did this through www.kiva.org, a Web site that provides information about entrepreneurs in poor countries-their photos, loan proposals and credit history-and allows people to make direct loans to them.
New York Times 27 March, 2007
Kiva.org has a sound mission, and we at 2Checkout.com believe that this site deserves a look.
