Getting Back to the Panamanian Loan Program

Last month, I asked for donations to make a Kiva loan to some Central American entrepreneur who needs a helping hand. Many thanks to those who have already given.You are all stars of the rock variety. You are:

If I missed any links for anybody, just let me know.

Then I forgot about it for a couple of weeks. But Ed’s post reminded me about it, so we’re back on.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Kiva, it’s a ridiculously successful charity that enables microlending to worthy small business owners and entrepreneurs in the developing world. Here’s a cool little video (great use of video + Google Earth for storytelling) that explains how it works (again, thanks to Ed):

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2769845&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

And your money is the gift that keeps on giving. Once the first loan is paid back, we’ll re-invest the money in another deserving businessman or woman. And we’ll do it again and again. How cool is that?

We raised $165 from the site. Julie and I decided to match that, so we’ve got $330 to loan to a worthy entrepreneur.

Choosing the Recipient

Now we need to choose who should receive the money. As it happens, there’s hardly any entrepreneurs in the system right now. It’s a happy problem, as Kiva describes:

Thanks Kiva Lenders! You’ve funded EVERY loan on the site!! To date, Kiva has enabled lenders to send $57,650,285 to the working poor around the world. Currently, we are experiencing a traffic spike and all previously fundraising loans have been fully funded. Our team is working with Kiva’s Field Partners around the globe to approve new loan applications every day.

$57 million in tiny loans is pretty amazing. But what should we do with the cash? Maybe hang onto it for a week or so to see if any new loans come on stream? Any suggestions?