My name is David Stewart and I am the Kiva Fellow in Nairobi, Kenya. I am working with Opportunity Kenya, part of Opportunity International. Opportunity just bought Sunlink, a small MFI here in Nairobi. I am here to help the transition and get all of the Sunlink staff on board with this thing from [...]
Related StoresKiva
 |
2158150 ADAMS ANSEL 1902 1984 North House Kiva |
US $2,000.00 | Sale |
 |
1 1 Mask Rider Kiva Helmet Garuru Form Pre painted |
US $239.99 | Sale |
Let’s start from the beginning…
October 13th, 2008 — , Fun, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kenya, Kiva, Nairobi, PCT, africa from davidalexanderstewart @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Kiva celebrates 3rd birthday
October 6th, 2008 — , Kiva, american express, anniversary, ernst and young, grant, kiva.org from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
Social lending site Kiva.org celebrates it’s third anniversary. In this time Kiva loans with a volume of approximately 45 million US$ have been financed by over 340,000 Kiva users worldwide. The repayment rate is quoted as 98.6% (see more stats).
Currently Kiva hopes to win a 1.5 million US$ grant in the American Express members project [...]
Honey I’m Home ( aka A Typical Kiva Day in the Office )
September 30th, 2008 — , Add new tag, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, SEDA, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Xanthi Kouvatas, microfinance from xanthisodyssey @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I am not a morning person. I know this about myself, but am starkly reminded of this fact when my alarm goes off at 6am. In a zombie trance I get out of bed, put the kettle on and have a shower. I put on the clothes I chose the night before, as I know [...]
Related StoresShower Tub Faucets Bathroom Plumbing Fixtures Home Improvement
Shower Panels Massagers Bathroom Plumbing Fixtures Home Improvement
Continue reading → Honey I’m Home ( aka A Typical Kiva Day in the Office )
From California to Sudan - Please watch the video.
September 21st, 2008 — , Ankush, BRAC, BRAC South Sudan, Dhupar, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, Sudan, africa from ankushdhupar @ Kiva Stories from the Field
A date with Colonel Mathieu and Why Kiva?
September 8th, 2008 — , JJ, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, Lebanon from jemru @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I’ve had a pretty frustrating day here in Beirut. To those who plan on traveling, a bit of advice…don’t loose your passport. Especially not in Lebanon. I felt like I was trapped in that scene from Battle of Algiers where Colonel Mathieu is unceremoniously perched atop his desk answering the questions of reporters either with an endless moral treatise or a flippant [...]
Related StoresA Simple Plan A Rock, Pop Music Memorabilia Entertainment Memorabilia
Desk, Shelf Models Military Aviation Transportation Collectibles
Continue reading → A date with Colonel Mathieu and Why Kiva?
Same Same But Different
September 6th, 2008 — , KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, Vietnam, Xanthi Kouvatas, microfinance from xanthisodyssey @ Kiva Stories from the Field
In Hanoi the tourist stalls in the old quarter are crammed with all manner of trinkets for tourists to buy. T-shirts are of course popular and there are many that contain that ubiquitous saying ‘same same but different’. Usually I ignore the persistent hawkers ( while fighting back the urge to proudly declare that I [...]
Related StoresWho needs Traffic Lights… We have Honking!
September 6th, 2008 — , Al Majmoua- Lebanese Association for Development, JJ Emru, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, Lebanon, MENA (Middle East & North Africa) from jemru @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I couldn’t really decide how to start this blog. I’m a bit new to the business. I always assumed blogs were just a bit pretentious unless you had something terribly important to say, but now that I have to write one of these things for my Kiva fellowship, I think I’m growing into the idea. [...]
Related StoresTraffic Lights, Signals Automobilia Transportation Collectibles
Fellowship of the Ring Lord of the Rings Sci-Fi, Fantasy Trading Cards Collectibles
Continue reading → Who needs Traffic Lights… We have Honking!
Kiva repayments now immediately available for reinvestment
September 4th, 2008 — , Kiva, repayments from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
In the past Kiva used to credit repayments to the lender accounts only after a loan was repaid in full.
That changed last week when I received the following email from Kiva:
We are happy to announce that Kiva will now return repayments to lenders
as soon as those repayments are received by Kiva. Because of this
change, you’ll [...]
Credit, Charge Cards Trading Cards Collectibles
Happy Bunny Animation Characters Animation Art, Characters Collectibles
Continue reading → Kiva repayments now immediately available for reinvestment
How to adopt a child…..
September 2nd, 2008 — , Chanti de Kleijn, Friendship Bridge, Guatemala, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, microfinance from chantikiva @ Kiva Stories from the Field
As some of you might know there is the story about the Guatemalans being a bit scared of people taking their kids for illegal adoption; apparently there was once a Japanese tourist beaten to death when he (or she I don’t know) picked up a kid.
Myself I have had kids dropped in my lab to [...]
It takes weeks to withdraw money from my Kiva account
August 26th, 2008 — , Kiva, PayPal, kiva.org, money, transfer from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
When I decided to withdraw some money from my Kiva account, I was informed:
This email confirms your withdrawal request of $25.00. You can expect the funds to be deposited into your paypal account within 1-3 weeks.
This astonished me. The withdrawal is conducted via paypal (as is the upload). The upload was almost instantly. Therefore [...]
Continue reading → It takes weeks to withdraw money from my Kiva account
Kiva: Micro-Foundations for Micro Loans?
August 14th, 2008 — , Kiva from Personal Loan Portfolio @ Personal Loan Portfolio
I have been fascinated with Kiva for sometime but have not jumped into the concept yet. Part of my hesitancy is that I feel awkward about earning a return on these micro-loans for international development. I don’t see them fitting with my goal of trying to offer a higher return, but as a [...]
Related StoresZakierík mis Amigos (Buena’s Dias my friends),
August 1st, 2008 — , Chantal de kleijn, Friendshipbridge, Guatemala, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, LAC, LAC (Latin America & the Caribbean), Lake Atitlan, Puente de Amistad from chantikiva @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
My First week in Guatemala and already very impressed! Don’t know where to start because it seems I am here already a while when counting the many adventures I already had!
My long flight from Europe through several US places brought me to Guatemala City in the evening. I was picked up from the airport [...]
Continue reading → Zakierík mis Amigos (Buena’s Dias my friends),
Borderlands
July 2nd, 2008 — , KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, Nuevo Laredo, Texas, border, mexico from brendan11 @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
This is my first blog entry. Many Kiva Fellow arrival tales involve foreign airports, sweaty travels across long stretches of rural countryside, and the onset of intercontinental jetlag. In contrast, I am probably the first fellow who arrived at his placement by Greyhound bus.
I write you from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, across the border from [...]
Kiva billboard advertising
June 12th, 2008 — , Kiva, Marketing from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
Kiva did billboard advertising on highway 101. Apparently the ad was sponsored by Paypal.
Matt Flannery of Kiva speculates whether the board brings 125 additional visits per day to the website (0.04% conversion rate) or if user growth on the sampled weeks had other causes.
(Photo Source)
Zopa, Lending Club, and Kiva all Score at The Webby Awards
May 15th, 2008 — , Kiva, Lending Club, Zopa from RateLadder @ P2P Lending
Zopa took the Webby in Financial Services (Mint was People’s Choice). On Zopa you can buy a CD and help reduce my loan without giving up any of your entitled interest (current rate 3.75%): Start Here When Buying Your CD
Lending Club took the Webby in Banking / Bill Paying (Mint was People’s Choice). Lending Club is [...]
Continue reading → Zopa, Lending Club, and Kiva all Score at The Webby Awards
Livestock Bazaar
May 9th, 2008 — , Aqroinvest, Azerbaijan, Jonathan Buser, Jonathon Buser, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Livestock Bazzaar from jonbuser @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Families in rural Azerbaijan are heavily reliant on farm animals, often just a handful of sheep and a cow, for food and income. Microcredit loans allow enterprising individuals to scale up animal raising activities so that excess milk, cheese, wool, and offspring can be sold for a profit. But where does one go to buy [...]
Related StoresAdvanta doubles funds to Kiva loans
May 7th, 2008 — , Kiva, Marketing, US from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
Credit card issuer Advanta entered into a partnership with Kiva. The initiative is called KivaB4BProject and Advanta will match the loans made by business card holders with up to 200 US$ per card. Card holders simply select a business owner to sponsor through Kiva and make a grant using their Advanta Business Card. Advanta matches that grant, [...]
Related StoresFast 6 months!
May 5th, 2008 — , Kiva, Uncategorized, microfinance, peru from federerchris @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
It was in December 2006 when I received an email from my brother inviting me to join a cool new website named Kiva.org which allowed individuals with a credit card to finance entrepreneurs in the developing world. Although I had heard of Microfinance I didn’t fully appreciate what it offered the world until I began [...]
Related StoresCharlotte Observer: ‘Peer-to-peer sites connect lenders with borrowers’
April 14th, 2008 — , Kiva, Prosper, peer to peer lending, prosper news from tom @ Prosper Lending Review
Christina Rexrode has published a detailed look at peer to peer lending for the Charlotte Observer - Peer-to-peer sites connect lenders with borrowers. Reaction to the article among veteran lenders on prospers.org was very complementary. The national m…
Related StoresGood Charlotte G Rock, Pop Music Memorabilia Entertainment Memorabilia
Charlotte Bobcats Basketball-NBA Fan Apparel Souvenirs Sports Collectibles
Continue reading → Charlotte Observer: ‘Peer-to-peer sites connect lenders with borrowers’
Cold Weather
March 14th, 2008 — , Friendship Bridge, Guatemala, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Maren Misner, microfinance from marenmisner @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Over the past five months I have, several times, made the ignorant mistake of poking fun at the perceived idea of ‘cold’ here. Coming from Minnesota, land of ‘the nation’s ice box’, where just a couple weeks ago it hit a record low of 40 below, before wind-chill, I have a different mentality of [...]
Related StoresKiva to reach 25 million US$ loan volume
March 13th, 2008 — , Kiva, US from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
Kiva.org, which allows everybody to help funding microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries, will achieve the milestone of 25 million US$ loan volumn within the next two days.
Launched 2005 the amazing growth curve can be seen on this Kiva stats page. The growth accelerated in 2007 driven by major media coverage. Up to now more [...]
Keystone Study - Online Philantrophy Markets
March 4th, 2008 — Kiva, MyC4 from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
A very interesting study that mainly concentrates on donations covers aspects of social lending too. Among the 24 online philantrophy markets examined are Kiva and MyC4. The study gives great advice what users (donors and lenders) expect from the market (the service) as functionality.
The study comments on Kiva:
Kiva’s entire business model was, from the start, [...]
Continue reading → Keystone Study - Online Philantrophy Markets
P2P Lending Carnival #4
February 21st, 2008 — IOU Central, Kiva, Lending Club, Lending Club blog, Lending Hub, P2P lending carnival, Prosper, Virgin Money USA, prosper blog from tom @ Prosper Lending Review
In June of last year I reviewed the top Prosper blogs. Since then, the number of bloggers covering P2P lending has increased significantly and the content covers much more than just Prosper. I’m proud to host the 4th edition of the P2P Lending Carnival…
Related StoresChild labor?
February 19th, 2008 — Friendship Bridge, Guatemala, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Maren Misner, microfinance from marenmisner @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
I am finding myself in situations here that require much moral thought, and I can’t seem to come up with the right answer, no matter which choice I make. There are children everywhere, all of them somehow under the age of twelve, and all of them working the same trade, selling bracelets, scarves, and [...]
Related StoresChanges
February 14th, 2008 — Ayacucho, FINCA, Friendship Bridge, Guatemala, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Maren Misner, microfinance, peru from marenmisner @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
I’ve found myself lately in a state of peace I can’t seem to explain nor justify. But peace is much preferred to chaos, and I’ll take it, no questions asked. For the first three months of my fellowship I was based in Lima, traveling from there to the different branch offices around the [...]
Related StoresHave I been here too long?!
February 14th, 2008 — Friendship Bridge, Guatemala, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Maren Misner, microfinance from marenmisner @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
A few years ago I was told a story of how to tell a first, second, and third time missionary. If you are drinking a glass of lemonade, and a fly lands in it, a first time missionary will ask for a new glass of lemonade. A second-timer will simply remove the fly, [...]
Related StoresStrange coincidence?
February 6th, 2008 — Kiva, Update from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
The Kiva.org Terms of Use was updated today… Oddly enough, the SAME day we place our first loans in a long time! Way to go Kiva! It feels good to be back on board!
New ToU!
Kiva’s Time?
February 6th, 2008 — Kiva from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
There has been much discussion in our home about the possibilty of starting to lend through Kiva.org again. Heather, my charming and sometimes covertly manipulative wife, has worked on dropping hints that she wants us to start lending soon. She had some valid points… Currently interest rates are low, so we aren’t even seeing a [...]
Related StoresMegan’s in Cote d’Ivoire!
January 26th, 2008 — Cote D'Ivoire, Kiva, Megan Berwick, ae&i, afrique emergence et investissements from meganberwick @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
I’m Megan, and I am volunteering as a Kiva Fellow with Afrique Emergence et Investissements, a microfinance institute in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. I arrived Monday night (1/21) and have been working in the main office since Tuesday. Already I am impressed with how well this organization is run, and the vision and enthusiasm of the [...]
Related StoresP2P Lending In The News
January 15th, 2008 — , Kiva, Lending Club, Microplace, News, Prosper.com, Zopa, loanio from RateLadder @ Rate Ladder
A couple of peer-to-peer (p2p) lending articles came out in major publications over the weekend… Enjoy…
The ChicagoTribue: Peer-to-peer lending helpful, but know rules
Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.
At least that’s the mind-set of individuals who lend and borrow money from each other online, known as peer-to-peer lending. In this virtual community [...]
Celia
January 14th, 2008 — Ayacucho, Finca Peru, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Maren Misner, microfinance, peru from marenmisner @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
As a Kiva fellow you realize the journals you write quickly become lost in the depths of hundreds of pages, full of testimonials begging to be read. I wanted to share one story I’ve found particularly moving, and hope you will, too.
An excerpt from a journal from Ayacucho, Peru:
“Celia has faced many difficulties in [...]
P2P lending trends to expect in 2008
January 13th, 2008 — Boober, Globefunder, Kiva, Microplace, MyC4, Prosper, Smava from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
2007 was a year of launch and growth for most players. What trends in peer to peer lending can be expected in 2008?
More competition and entering more national markets (probability 100%)In many markets multiple p2p lending services will compete for the attention of lenders and borrowers, especially in the largest market: In the United [...]
Kiva to offer interest to lenders
January 12th, 2008 — Kiva, peer to peer lending from tom @ Prosper Lending Review
Kiva has typically not been an investment option because they do not pay interest to lenders. They do charge interest but the money goes to cover their costs. According to an article in E-Commerce Times, Kiva plans on offering interest to lenders in th…
Related StoresClassifying p2p lending services
January 9th, 2008 — Kiva, Lendingclub, Microplace, MyC4, Prosper, Smava, Zopa from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
More and more p2p lending services are launching, each catering to different markets and different target audiences. Some derive more features from "ancestors" Prosper or Zopa, some less.
All follow the aim to allow lenders to directly lend money to borrowers without a bank acting as intermediary. This aim is sometimes not pursued strictly to the [...]
Impact of Kenya’s crisis on p2p lending operations
January 5th, 2008 — Kiva, MyC4, africa from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
The unrest after elections in Kenya might also to some degree impact operations of Kiva and MyC4 which are funding p2p loans in Kenya. As Jessica Jackley Flannery of Kiva reports operations of the local MFIs in Kenya have been interrupted:
The situation on the ground appears to vary widely from community to community. However, one [...]
Impact Drivers Wrenches Corded Drills Power Tools Tools Home Improvement
Local US Political Historical Memorabilia Collectibles
Continue reading → Impact of Kenya’s crisis on p2p lending operations
One to rule them all!
January 4th, 2008 — Editorial, Kiva, Lending Club, Microplace, Prosper, Zopa, goals from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
We made a major decision yesterday as to what we are going to do on the P2P side this year. We have decided to go with only ONE P2P option in 2008, which will be Lending Club. We looked at the numbers and came to the conclusion that our investment dollars will get the most [...]
Related StoresStarting Gate for 2008!
January 1st, 2008 — Kiva, Lending Club, Microplace, Update, Zopa, goals from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
Here are our starting numbers for two of our P2P efforts as of end of day yesterday…
Loans- 66
Account Value- $1,653.57 (repayments have started)
2008 Goal- $10,000 in loans @ 10%+ return!
Loans Issued- 105
Historical Loan Value- $2,625
Current Default Rate- 0.00% (nice!)
2008 Goal- $5,000+ in loans!
The new year brings with it some exciting opportunities on the P2P lending [...]
RateLadder 2008 Goals
January 1st, 2008 — , Globe Funder, Kiva, Lending Club, Microplace, Prosper.com, Zopa, goals, loanio from RateLadder @ Rate Ladder
Happy New Year! Here are my goals for 2008 with RateLadder and p2p lending.
Current
Expectation
Goal
Stretch Goal
2008 Year Ending Account Value Prosper
$11,519.59
$15,500
$16,000
$17,000
Prosper Quicken ROI
10.16%
6%
8%
10%
Prosper Lending Stats ROI
3.92%
4%
5%
6%
Prosper Eric’s CC ROI
8.42%
8%
9%
10%
2008 Year Ending Account Value Lending Club
$1,596.76
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
Lending Club ROI
???
6%
8%
10%
Per Month New Money Added To All P2P Lending Accounts
$300
$500
$700
Average Unique Visitors Per Day
87.22
100
200
500
RSS Feed Readership
143
200
500
1000
I have a general p2p [...]
P2P Lending Predictions for 2008
December 31st, 2007 — Kiva, Lending Club, Prosper, Virgin Money USA, Zopa, peer to peer lending from tom @ Prosper Lending Review
As we get ready to bring in the new year in a couple of hours here are what a few people around the world have to say about P2P lending today…Ten things that will change your future from the Sydney Morning Herald”PEER-TO-PEER LENDING Whether you’re d…
Related Stores2007 RateLadder Goal Review — Overall A-
December 31st, 2007 — , Kiva, Lending Club, Microplace, Prosper.com, Site Review, Site Statistics, goals from RateLadder @ Rate Ladder
As my final planned post of 2007 I will be reviewing my goals and giving a grade.
Here were my 2007 RateLadder Goals.
Expectation
Goal
Stretch Goal
Actual
2007 Year Ending Account Value
$4,386.37
$5,062.84
$5,740.86
$11,519.59
Return on Investment (ROI)
10%
12%
14%
10.16%
New Reinvestment Loans
24
27
30
30+
Number of Defaults
2
0
4
Per Month New Money Added
$50
$100
$150
$582
New Money Source
100% Savings
75% Savings, 25% RateLadder.com
50% Savings, 50% RateLadder.com
50%+ RateLadder.com
Google PageRank
1
3
5
3
Average Unique Visitors Per Day
10
50
100
87.22
2007 Year Ending [...]
Where art thou Kiva?
December 29th, 2007 — Kiva, Microplace from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
This evening I found us locked out of our MicroPlace.com account due to a stuck keyboard key when attempting to log in. So the message prompted me to call MicroPlace… No one is in their office until Monday (maybe) which means I won’t be able to lend again until at least Monday.
Sooo… Where does that [...]
Zopa Italy promises to lend at Kiva
December 29th, 2007 — Italy, Kiva, Marketing, Zopa from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
In an email newsletter Zopa Italy encouraged its member to spread the word about Zopa to friends and relatives. Zopa says it is for 'a good reason': Zopa Italy pledges to lend $1 on Kiva for each new member that registers at Zopa Italy before January 15th.Everybody can monitor how much Zopa invested on this lender page [...]
Related StoresReview of peer to peer lending developments in 2007
December 27th, 2007 — Boober, CommunityLend, Fairrates, Globefunder, Kiva, Lendingclub, Loanland, Microplace, MyC4, Prosper, Smava, Zopa from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
2007 was an exciting and eventful year in the development of peer to peer lending. Looking back these were the highlights:
February: Boober.nl launches the first p2p lending service in the Netherlands.Prosper.com raises required borrower credit score to 520 and introduces other major changes
March: Smava.de launches German p2p lending service
April: Fairrates.dk offers person to person lending in [...]
Service Businesses Businesses for Sale Opportunities
Forest Service Government Advertising Collectibles
Continue reading → Review of peer to peer lending developments in 2007
Kiva growth
December 20th, 2007 — Kiva, US, Video from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
Kiva.org send a newsletter to lenders yesterday with current numbers:
Over 16 million US$ in loans funded
Average Kiva loan funds in 1.01 days
More then 170,000 lenders
25,000 entrepreneurs received a loan
Kiva has grown a widespread group of supporters, ranging from Kiva Fellows over company supporters to a lively community discussing at Kiva Friends or contributing at Kivapedia.
KivaTV is showing a mix [...]
Ayacucho
December 10th, 2007 — Ayacucho, Finca Peru, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Maren Misner, microfinance, peru from marenmisner @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
Ayacucho, Peru has a sad story. In the 80s and early 90s, it was there that the terrorist group Sendero Luminoso, ‘the Shining Path’, was thriving, fighting political and social battles that left 30,000 dead and 40,000 who remain missing. Setting foot in Ayacucho today, you’d never guess its painful history, and although [...]
Related StoresKiva Update
December 7th, 2007 — Kiva from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
We closed down the LMYG blog for a while. Two things… Design changes to the site are planned (have been since before the PayPal issue even cropped up a few weeks back). Plus we are awaiting changes (promised) to the Terms of Use. Once the ToU is updated we will likely come back to Kiva.org [...]
Related StoresKiva Loans Paid On time Again, But Don’t Die
December 7th, 2007 — Kiva from RateLadder @ Rate Ladder
My 4 Kiva loans have again paid on time: http://www.kiva.org/lender/RateLadder
However, Jeff & Heather over at My Microfinance have pointed out that if I die the money is forgiven… I think that is fine if my estate chooses that, but why would my estate pass on to my heirs where they could continue to help people. [...]
Continue reading → Kiva Loans Paid On time Again, But Don’t Die
Migration
December 5th, 2007 — Kiva, Update from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
We will be migrating out of Kiva.org per a very disturbing clause in their Terms of Use that we just now discovered (see article below for more info). Very disappointing for us and perhaps others more or less so. We had to make a decision based upon long term plans to keep our P2P lending [...]
Related StoresKiva Lenders… If you plan on dying, please read this!
December 5th, 2007 — Kiva from Jeff & Heather @ My Microfinance
“In the event that the Borrower to whom your money was lent or you die before the end of the loan term, you and your estate hereby forgive all outstanding loans.”
You may want to chime in on this over at KivaFriends.org as it is giving us a new pause as well. So what is says [...]