Why I Still Lend to Kiva

How I started

I started lending on Kiva in 2007, after I first heard about it from Oprah. I loved the concept of lending money to people who could use it to better their position. I like that $25 can be reused over and over. In this way a small loan can go along way.

Since I have started I have made 39 loans to equal $975 loans. I have been repaid $792.08 and lost only $27.63. I only have $134.40 total currently lent or waiting to be lent. Even though, there has been some loss the majority of people will pay in full and I believe that the loans help people better their lot. 

In the last three decades extreme poverty has declined 60% to less than 10%. I believe that Kiva lending has had some impact, however small that is to helping that. It has also provided water, education and sanitation to people all over the globe. This helps impacts everyone.

Differences

Some things that have changed over more than a decade, there are teams that you can assign your loan too and people in those teams can also loan. You could also pick loans from the teams. Some of the teams are based on types of loans like Give Green which finds green loans to invest. The only team that I use to find loans is Late Loaning Lenders which finds loans that are about to expire without being fully funded. The other teams I will just add my loans to. 

Another difference, is that there are group loans. I don't remember there being group loans in the beginning. When they first started having group loans, I stuck to individuals, because I thought it would be more difficult for a group of people to repay a loan than an individual. I also thought it was more helpful to help one person. I haven't been as picky about this lately. I haven't noticed a difference in the pay back. I also started to think that helping more people makes an impact as great or better than an individual.

You can get a loan if you are in the US or give a loan to someone in the US. I selected a US loan when they first made this change, but it default with only seven payments to go. I would consider loaning in the US again, but I think peer-to-peer lending companies already fill the niche.

Something different I do is, since January 2018, I have started to deposit $5 into my account every month and donate a $1 to the Kiva foundation. I think a steady amount every month even if it's a $1 is better than the $3.75 that is recommended when you make a loan. Because of this steady amount and repayments I have made 9 loans in 2019 and 2018. This is better than making up the difference to my balance, it's consistent so I belief I have been able to take more loans than previously. So, this year I increased my deposit to $7 and donate $2 each time. I lent in late December, so today was the first time I made a loan since the new deposits.

How to I pick my loans?

When looking for a loan, I usually look for loans in the Americas. This is for a few reasons, I know that they really have a need for the loans, and because I think lending to North, Central and South America has a bigger impact on people in the US than lending to people in Europe, Asia or Africa. Simply because of the distance and the connections of our economies. I imagine the money trickling up here no matter how small or how long it takes and impacting migration.

Even though I try to look in countries in the Americas, there is also a feature where you can look by countries you haven't lent in yet. So I sometimes I will do that as well, but I still prefer loans in the Americas.

I also try to look for women or a woman. While I do think women have more of a need for it, I also think that when you loan to women it has a bigger impact on her family, community and nation. 

Like I said sometimes, I will look for a loan that is about to expire before it is funded. I don't always do this because, but I think it is nice to help loans that get overlooked.

I currently have 7 loans that are pending, one that is fundraising, four that are paying back and two that are paying back delinquent. Kiva will continue to let people pay if they are willing to pay even if they go delinquent which is good. One of the loans was in Puerto Rico, and after hurricane Maria they had trouble paying, and another is in Ghana. The other loans are in Columbia, Guatemala, India and Moldova. 

Kiva Gifts

Early on I gave gift certificates to some of my family to get them started as well. I gave gifts to 8 people and they have relent at least 13 times, two gifts are private so I can't see if they relent. I will gift a Kiva cards to the first commenters who is interested.

I will continue to deposit and donate to Kiva, even though there are other microlending and peer-to-peer lending companies out there, because I believe that it has an impact. If you used kiva what are your thoughts? Do you have any loans that you think need fundraising?

My latest Kiva loan:

Kiva.org