Tala, formerly InVenture, is revolutionizing financial services in countries around the world by bringing credit scores to billions of people in East Africa, India and South Africa who not only don’t have one, but don’t have a mechanism to get one. These individuals may not be unbanked, but their countries have no system for them to measure their credit. This makes makes scalability and financial growth difficult: if you are a borrower, … Read More >>

Global Partnerships‘ annual Luncheon is rapidly approaching on October 13th. They are looking for a bit of volunteer help from the Seattle microfinance community. Details are below, if you are interested in lending a helping hand, please reach out to Alison Driver at adriver at globalpartnerships.org. Volunteer Work Party – Saturday, October 8th, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (at Global Partnerships): Lend a hand as we put together table decorations, programs, info packets, … Read More >>

So I know this is beyond incredibly late notice, but there is a Global Partnerships open house tomorrow morning at their office in Seattle. How do we use market-based solutions to expand opportunity for people living in poverty? You’ll learn more about GP’s work and the extraordinary people they serve — and discuss ways market-based solutions provide simple, sustainable economic, health and energy resources for people living in poverty. The presentation will … Read More >>

Kiva.org is known for crowdfunding socially responsible business loans (in increments of just $25) between ordinary people halfway around the world from one another. The cornerstone of the non-profit organization is the online platform, which allows anyone with an Internet connection, $25 and a PayPal account to contribute to a small loan for someone in the developing world. The practice highlights the strength of the American dollar when efficiently applied in the developing world; $300 USD for a farmer in … Read More >>

Since 2005, more than 1.8 million people around the world have made a loan on Kiva…

There’s been a microfinance angle to Horizon (a blend of AirBnB & Couchsurfing within trusted networks) all along — if I had to trace the origins back to the very beginning, finding those deeply involved in the microfinance industry around the globe was one of the early pain points I experienced traveling. The other microfinance tie is our support for Kiva while testing what we refer to as #travelbygiving (replacing or supplementing house gifts with donations … Read More >>

A great piece on Kiva Zip on CNBC… Premal Shah, Kiva‘s president, and Stevenson Dunn, Kiva loan borrower and The Bishop Gallery owner, discuss the launch of Kiva’s $25 lending platform for small businesses.

I’m one of those people who believe in the nonexistence of luck. I define luck as when preparedness meets an opportunity. I concur with what Wesley Cohen and Daniel Leventhal would call it in their studies: “Fortune favors the prepared firm”. I so believe because even at my level as a graduate student and intern at Zidisha, most of the good things that have come my way have happened because they found me at … Read More >>