November 24th, 2008 — , International Micro-Loan Fund (IMON), KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Tajikistan, Uncategorized, carrie ferrence, imon from Carrie Ferrence @ Kiva Stories from the Field
In the past week I have met with almost 50 clients, which is way more than I met in the previous six weeks combined. I should feel inspired and excited by that accomplishment, but I mostly feel tired and battered. That’s because all of the clients I met with were BORING! I’m [...]
Continue reading → Sometimes the Most Boring Client is Really the Most Interesting
November 24th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money
Too many things on my mind right now. Time to get them out:
Free Dr. Pepper - I didn’t get it out to you in time, but Dr. Pepper got surprised when they promised to give away free Pepper if Guns and Roses came out with an album in 2008. Against all odds GnR [...]
Related StoresNovember 21st, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
As recently as Oct 2008 the worry was for inflation and now the call is for deflation.
We got these stats from the Bank of Canada inflation calculator site.
$100 in 2003 = $111.38 in 2008 | 2.2% inflation $100 in 2007 = $102.60 in 2008 | 2.6% inflation
Statistics Canada – Consumer [...]
Continue reading → Inflation – deflation – what is the answer ?
November 20th, 2008 — , AMK, Angkor Microfinance Kampuchea (AMK), Angkor Mikroheranhvatho Kampuchea, Cambodia, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, Uncategorized, extreme fear, kandal, microfinance, moto, phnom penh from kieranball @ Kiva Stories from the Field
November 20th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
We caught a brief talk from Jackie Flannery, CMO and Founder of Kiva.org last night at UofT. She was in town to speak at the Ontario Association of Food Banks annual fund raising gala, and Rotman School were able to get an hour of her time earlier in the evening.
With small deeds comes big change [...]
Continue reading → Jackie Flannery from Kiva was in Toronto last night
November 16th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money
My wife persuaded me to go her gym’s Body Pump class yesterday. Not only was my ego hurt by the women doing heavier weights more times than me, but even my finger muscles hurt. That being the case, I’m going to cut right to the chase and get you the links.
From The Money [...]
Continue reading → Weekend Personal Finance Links (sore muscle edition)
November 14th, 2008 — , Cambodia, KF5, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Kiva, Uncategorized, credit from wholologist @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I’ve been working with CREDIT-MFI as a Kiva Fellow for about a month and a half, and I still feel like I’m getting my feet wet. CREDIT is fairly large with about 360 employees working throughout Cambodia in their 7 branches. I work closely with CREDIT’s two Kiva Coordinators, Sopheap and Vichet, at the head [...]
Related StoresNovember 13th, 2008 — , Abby Gray, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Togo, Uncategorized, WAGES, africa from abbygray @ Kiva Stories from the Field
This is my first post from the field, and, unfortunately, I’m not writing to share an inspiring microfinance success story or even a heartwarming cross-cultural anecdote, as I was hoping I would be. I am writing to tell about a conversation that threw an uncomfortably bright spotlight directly on the basis of my being here [...]
Related StoresNovember 11th, 2008 — , International Micro-Loan Fund (IMON), KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva Fellow, Tajikistan, Uncategorized, carrie ferrence, imon from Carrie Ferrence @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I wanted to share two really beautiful events from the past week: celebrating the election and attending my first Tajik wedding.
The U.S. Election
Contrary to the excitement that most were feeling on election day, I was feeling lousy. Here we were, on the edge of something truly great, and I was not able to participate. Of [...]
November 7th, 2008 — , Payday Borrower, Payday Industry Stats, Payday Lender, Peer-to-peer payday loan, Rating system, Uncategorized, arizona payday loan, marketplace, ohio payday loan, p2p payday loan, payday loan industry from yadyap @ YadYap Peer-to-Peer Payday & Short-term Loans
There are three main issues within the payday loan industry that helped give rise to the creation of YadYap:
The public’s outcry with loan rates charged by traditional payday lenders, and the lack of a good solution.
The non existence of a true marketplace to create competitive payday loan rates.
The inability for payday loan borrowers to build credibility as they [...]
October 29th, 2008 — , KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Khujand, MLF MicroInvest, MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan, Microinvest, Rob, Tajikistan, Uncategorized from Rob @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Tajikistan is quickly becoming a nation of women and children… and a diminishing number at that. The low incomes and lack of jobs have resulted in more and more men leaving for Russia to send money back to the family. With a minimum wage here of 20 Somoni ($6 US), people are working multiple jobs, [...]
Related StoresOctober 29th, 2008 — , International Micro-Loan Fund (IMON), KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Tajikistan, Uncategorized, carrie ferrence, cotton, imon, kiva fellows 6 from Carrie Ferrence @ Kiva Stories from the Field
It’s easy to tell when cotton season has arrived in Tajikistan, not because of a change in temperature or rainfall but because university students start disappearing from the city. Each Fall universities throughout Tajikistan come to a standstill as hoards of students are sent to do unofficially mandatory labor in the cotton fields. They are [...]
Related StoresOctober 28th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money
Last April, I went to Finovate Startup in San Francisco. I was introduced to around 40 companies at the time, and I met a number of their founders personally. One of them was Credit Karma. You may remember that in the past, I told you how you can get, free credit scores [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Credit Karma’s Credit Simulator (and Other Credit Tools)
October 26th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money
Last Sunday, the Red Sox lost game seven of the American League Championship Series. I remember thinking, the worst part is that my sports experience over the next 6 months will be watching Matt Cassel. The Patriots had just gotten destroyed by San Diego ad the injuries were starting to pile up on [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Cassel Does Not Stand on Pillars of Sand (and weekend links)
October 24th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
I wanted to highlight an upcoming conference in Toronto aimed at startups and entrepreneurs. Its been organised by the irrepressible David Crow, and Jevon McDonald who have put together a great speakers list, including:
Hugh Macleod
Don Dodge
Austin Hill
and many others
Click through for details, and if the purpose, timing and location works then its one to think [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → StartupEmpire conference | Nov 13th & 14th Toronto
October 23rd, 2008 — , ECA (Eastern Europe & Central Asia), KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Khujand, MLF MicroInvest, MLF MicroInvest-Tajikistan, Rob, Tajikistan, Uncategorized from Rob @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Tajiki ’standing, that is. If I’ve learned anything in my 36 hours in Khujand, Tajikistan, it’s that trying to understand the local culture, language and history is like drinking from a firehose. The challenge is muted, however, by the extreme kindness of the people here and their willingness to make you feel at home. Here [...]
Related StoresOctober 23rd, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Julie Ross @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I’m going to make a bold statement: microfinance is the land of minute incremental change, and joy resulting from massive professional achievement is rare here. Afterall, one loan of $125 does not take a family from impoverished to middle-class, and three months in the field does not illuminate the solution to eradicating global poverty. As a result, any goal [...]
Related StoresOctober 22nd, 2008 — , KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Ukraine, Uncategorized from eviemaye @ Kiva Stories from the Field
On a recent trip into the Ukrainian countryside, I spoke to a woman named Yelena. She’s a Kiva client who sells office supplies to local businesses, and has been in business for herself for nine years. The top worry in her mind, she said, was the global financial crisis.
This woman was confident, well educated, and [...]
October 21st, 2008 — , Peer to peer lenders, Uncategorized, ilquidity, peer to peer lending from yadyap @ Yadyap Peer-to-Peer Payday & Short-term Loans
In an online Wall Street Journal article titled “Peer-To-Peer Lenders Get Into Secondary Market” Arden Dale discusses the reasons for, and benefits of having a secondary market is association with peer-to-peer lending platforms. Here are the main take aways from the article as well as how YadYap’s system differs.
Prosper and Lending Club both saw the need [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → P2P Liquidity Concerns at Prosper and Lending Club - No Problem for YadYap
October 18th, 2008 — , Josh Bull, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva, Uncategorized, edaprospo, peru from joshtoro @ Kiva Stories from the Field
If ever there was a time that underscored the importance of trust in economics, now is it. Readers of this blog from the United States can attest to the financial ruin that awaits us when banks suffer not only from a deficit of wealth but also a deficit of trust; it turns into a vicious [...]
Related StoresOctober 17th, 2008 — , Dominican Republic, Esperanza, Housing Loan, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kalie Gold, Uncategorized, esperanza international, housing, microfinance, women from kaliegold @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Thursday, Oct 16th
Santo Domingo
At 2:30pm yesterday I watched the Caribbean ocean rush past the airplane windows as we descended towards the Santo Domingo tarmac. After a quick bustle through customs, an exchange of US dollars for pesos (oh and no lost bags!) I was quickly collected by two Esperanza International employees. Tricia, (Esperanza intern coordinator), [...]
October 15th, 2008 — , BRAC Uganda, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uganda, Uncategorized, bill brick from Bill Brick @ Kiva Stories from the Field
“I plan to end our relationship with Kiva next week, unless … (rattles off a laundry list of consequential things for Kiva to change immediately). I like Kiva very much - nice people, very smart, hard-working, doing fine things. Kiva has served our needs well. But I’m afraid we’ve graduated beyond Kiva. I’m not sure [...]
Related StoresOctober 15th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money
I hope you really like to hear about peer-to-peer lending news. Earlier today, I wrote about how Lending Club opened for business again and just before Prosper died (not in the traditional sense, just closed it’s doors for a potentially “several months” while it passes a few steps with the SEC).
However, I really wanted [...]
October 15th, 2008 — , Lendingclub, US, Uncategorized, lendingclub.com, note trading platform, secondary market from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
A day after the start of the secondary market (see: “Lending Club allows lenders to trade their investments“) of Lendingclub.com, today 3 loans are offered for sale. I doubt that these Lendingclub loans will find a buyer, since they are all more then 60 days late and the discounts of the asking price versus the [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → First loans for sale on Lending Club’s Note Trading Platform
October 14th, 2008 — , Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kiva Fellows 6th Class, Milena Arciszewski, Uncategorized, Zene Za Zene, Zene za Zene International (Women for Women) from milena08 @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I am living in the attic of a blue house, which I share with fish farmers in the Bosnian countryside. I have a small kitchen (with a tea kettle and 6 espresso cups), a living room decorated with antique dolls, and a bedroom that smells like the suitcase of a grandparent. It is a musty [...]
Related StoresOctober 12th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Sanjaya P @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Well now is your chance!!!
I will be visiting the Siphat Yang Village Bank and the Chon Erm Village Bank Group this Thursday. If you want me to ask the members of the village bank a question, send me an email with your question: sanjaya.punyasena AT fellows.kiva.org
This is the first time I’m trying this, so I [...]
Continue reading → Have you ever wanted to ask a Kiva entrepreneur a specific question?
October 10th, 2008 — , Jara Small, KF5, Tanzania, Tujijenge Tanzania, Uncategorized, africa from smallj @ Kiva Stories from the Field
A past fellow to Tanzania, Alec Lovett, posted two blogs on “You Know You’re in Tanzania When…” I’ve posted the links to his blogs and added volume III with my own observations. Enjoy!
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/03/21/you-know-you-are-in-tanzania-when…/
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/03/24/you-know-you-are-in-tanzania-when…-vol-ii/
Volume III
1. They say “Hakuna Matata,” which is actually Swahili but it’s still funny.
2. The water stops running in the middle of your shower. (This [...]
Continue reading → You Know You’re in Tanzania When…(Vol III)
October 9th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Doug @ Zopa Blog USA
We are making a few changes here in the US – including the introduction of direct customer service relationships between Zopa customers and their credit unions. Within the next 90 days, you will get a new customer service phone number and email and start talking to the credit union folks directly. Loans will have the [...]
Related StoresOctober 9th, 2008 — , KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uncategorized from eviemaye @ Kiva Stories from the Field
October 6th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
MoneyAisle is a unique service, only for the US at the moment. It allows retail savers to place their needs, and competing banks will bid for their business. Even if you are in Canada, you can try the demo out without registering.
Anyhow I was thrilled to be asked to give my 10c worth on [...]
September 30th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
Something that has been of concern since last year, is the run on effect of sub prime both internationally, and then into other credit products.
The Globe and Mail pick up on that theme with a piece on US Credit Cards.
“If history is any indicator, there should be an equivalent surge in credit-card charge-offs very soon,” [...]
Continue reading → US Credit Card debt under the microscope | Globe and Mail
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 StoresContinue reading → Honey I’m Home ( aka A Typical Kiva Day in the Office )
September 26th, 2008 — , P2P Lending News, Uncategorized, loanio from Personal Loan Portfolio @ Personal Loan Portfolio
Loanio has continued to claim be almost available since I started blogging on P2P lending. Loanio in fact has been promising its imminent release since before I started blogging P2P lending — back in November of 2008.
For about the past year (maybe more), Loanio has been requesting you to sign up for their [...]
Continue reading → O Loanio, Loanio, Wherefore art thou Loanio?
September 24th, 2008 — , Cambodia, China, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uncategorized, kieran, microfinance, tricycle from kieranball @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Hello! My name is Kieran and I am a Kiva Fellow, sixth iteration. I am currently sitting on a turbulent flight back home to London after an intense week of training at Kiva’s San Francisco offices. I am sad to be leaving, slightly worried about the ancient aircraft I’m on (hoping that the technology is [...]
Related StoresSeptember 18th, 2008 — , Bosnia, KF6, Kiva Fellows, Milena Arciszewski, Sarajevo, Uncategorized from milena08 @ Kiva Stories from the Field
My name is Milena Arciszewski and I will be serving as a Kiva Fellow for a full year in Bosnia, Kenya and possibly Tanzania and Cambodia. My first placement is in Zene za Zene in Sarajevo, which targets women affected by the genocide of the 1990s.
I have to say… I am so excited to be [...]
September 18th, 2008 — , KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Kenya, Uncategorized, sarah forbes from scmforbes @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Jambo everyone! Or, to prove that I’m “in the know”, Mambo!
Okay, so these may be the only two words I know in Swahili at this point, but I am expecting/hoping that my vocabulary will exponentially increase in the next 13 weeks. At this moment, I am sitting among 29 other, and infinitely more interesting than [...]
September 18th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Carrie Ferrence @ Kiva Stories from the Field
Personally, I really enjoy preparing for a big trip to some far away place. There are so many unknowns: what will I see, who will I meet, what will I eat, and what type of terrifying illness will I suffer? But preparing for three months in Tajikistan has been a bit different.
With only a little [...]
September 18th, 2008 — , Azerbaijan, Baku, Jonathan Buser, KF6, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class), Uncategorized, garry kasparov, islam, mark bulliet, mongolia, oil, soviet from kivamark @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I’m the only fellow headed to Azerbaijan from Kiva Fellows 6, so I’m pretty excited to bring word of this fascinating region to those of you who make Kiva such a success. I’ll be visiting each of Kiva’s partner microfinance institutions in the region to assist them in any way I can, support Kiva, journal [...]
Related StoresSeptember 18th, 2008 — , Eviatar Frankel, Uncategorized from eviatar @ Kiva Stories from the Field
I am Eviatar Frankel, the new Kiva Fellow for Samoa. Starting in October, I will be spending three months working with South Pacific Business Development (SPBD), the MFI there. Afterward, I will probably be going to Vietnam for another three months, but we’re working on that. Currently, I am in San Francisco for a week [...]
Related StoresSeptember 18th, 2008 — , Cassie DeFillipo, Uncategorized from cdefillipo @ Kiva Stories from the Field
My name is Cassie DeFillipo, and I am one of the new Kiva Fellows currently training in San Francisco and preparing to head out into the field to serve as a liason for Kiva and its microfinance institutions in Africa. I will be spending my first three months at CRAN (Christian Rural Aid Network) on [...]
Related StoresSeptember 17th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
Its a media frenzy outside the Lehman offices in NY …..
& London. Also above, employees take time out to appreciate Chair Richard Fuld and autograph his picture.
All in all a sad state affairs.
Technorati Tags: lehman_brotherrs
Continue reading → More on Lehmans employees and their last day ….
September 15th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
Apologies for not updating after the outage last week. It was resolved later that day, when a kooky piece of hardware was identified as the culprit.
Related StoresSeptember 12th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Luke @ Zopa Blog USA
The results are in, the smoke has cleared, and the How Low Can You Go? Help Challenge has an official winner!
Drum roll, please…
(pretend the Zopa anthem is playing, with great pomp and circumstance)
In 1st place, representing the great state of Minnesota, we have tommienocker. Congratulations tommienocker! Your $15.43/mo of new Help was a new world [...]
September 4th, 2008 — , Cambodia, KF5, Teresa Dunbar, Uncategorized, credit from wholologist @ Kiva Stories from the Field
After 7 movies, 4 made-for-TV dramas, 1 documentary, 2 Sudoku games, 1 confiscated Swiss army knife, 1 - $70 extra baggage weight charge, 5 airplane meals of chicken, chicken, and more sai mouan (chicken in Khmer), and 3 different planes, I am finally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I believe I am the last of the [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → Phnom Penh Notes: Sweaty Jeans, Magic, and Black Smoke
August 28th, 2008 — , Red_Herring, Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
We are pleased that we have been selected as a finalist for the Top 50 Award that will be announced by Red Herring September 16th, 2008.
Red Herring Canada 2008
Red Herring Canada will host its first annual Top 50 Awards, celebrating the most innovative and promising companies in Canada. Adding to the success of our yearly [...]
Continue reading → CommunityLend is a finalist for Red Herring Top 50 Award
August 27th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Luke @ Zopa Blog USA
The Olympics may be over, but the competition at Zopa is on fire.
With only 5 days left in the How Low Can You Go? Help Challenge, we’ve decided to take another peek at the race.
To all of you who’ve made the leap already, congrats! To everyone else, there’s still plenty of time to get on [...]
August 26th, 2008 — , Uncategorized, bargain shopping, personal finance from WealthBoy @ WealthBoy
With the recent run-up in fuel prices, you have likely been seeing prices rise in your grocery store too. This weekend, I went with my wife to buy our produce. She first asked me to stop at the ATM to get $20. Going to the ATM is unusual for us in the [...]
Related StoresAugust 15th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Luke @ Zopa Blog USA
Well we’re half way through our thrilling “How Low Can You Go? Help Challenge” and we thought it’d be a good idea to post some rankings, just so you can see how things fair.
We’re not going to give away the specific amounts of help that you’re receiving. That would spoil the big finish down the [...]
August 15th, 2008 — , Germany, Marketing, Smava, Uncategorized, Video, smava.de from wiseclerk @ P2P-Banking.com
German p2p lending service Smava has sent its lenders an email asking them to produce short videos telling their personal experiences using Smava. Smava offers 50 Euro (approx. 75 US$) for each user generated video that is sent to Smava and published.
Three (older) videos by Smava lenders can be viewed here.
Continue reading → Marketing - Smava asks users to videotape their experiences
August 8th, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Luke @ Zopa Blog USA
We’re exactly one week into our fantabulous Zopa promotion and already we’ve seen a lot of action. People are getting help left and right. Ya’ll are doing a wonderful job. You should be pleased — pleased as punch.
For all those folks out there scratching their heads and wondering how best to get in on the [...]
August 4th, 2008 — , Cameroon, Ghape, KF5 (Kiva Fellows 5th Class), Lucy Gent, Uncategorized from lucygent @ Kiva Blogs from the Field
On Friday, three members of the GHAPE office went to the funeral of one of our members, Bih Josopha. She was 48 years old and left eight children behind, four of whom are under the age of 14. The daughter had come to the office to inform us of her passing on Thursday, immediately after [...]
Related StoresAugust 1st, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Luke @ Zopa Blog USA
Zopa is holding a CONTEST! Contest = Mathegrammmatically AWESOME! OMG!!!1!!11! Free Money!!!
(phew. posting two days in a row really gets me going, apparently.)
As promised, Zopa will be holding a contest in the month of August, to see who can get the most new Help.
We call it the “How Low Can You Go? Limbo/Help Challenge,” (or [...]
July 31st, 2008 — , Uncategorized from Colin @ CommunityLend blog
While there are all kinds of attempts to place a brave face on the Canadian economy, it seems certain that Canada is headed for slower economic times. Suggests it is probably a good time for consumers to review their own personal financial circumstances, and financial plan.
Toronto Star
Canada’s real gross domestic product – the broadest measure [...]
Continue reading → Canadian economy close to recession | Toronto Star
July 31st, 2008 —