Author Archives: J. Beshara

About J. Beshara

I was born and raised in the great state of Texas, and after university in North Carolina, I moved to work for an MFI called Kuyasa in Cape Town, South Africa (it's absolutely beautiful if you've never been!). I still live in Cape Town, but left Kuyasa to start Dvelo.org, an online microlending pilot program that will launch later this year (we hope it makes the difference in the world that we think it can!). I am also one of the founders of TheMiFiReport.com, a news source for everything microfinance, and a co-founder of the 501(c)3, The Dvelo Fund, which gives grant funding to undergraduate students wishing to research developmental issues in the underdeveloped world (ie, give passionate students the firsthand experience that is often too costly to fund themselves). Though Mykro.org has shared some of our articles from The MiFi Report before, the official introduction was made through a lovely young lady named Kayla Villnow (of Esperanza, D.R.), and I have her to thank for the introduction to Jerry and Drew's great site! JJ Beshara

Turn Phones into Loans

Published By on March 3, 2009

Recycle to Eradicate Poverty, or RTEP for short, is a innovative group out of Dallas, Texas that is turning recycled phones into microfinance loans. The unique initiative celebrates the last two Nobel Peace Prize concepts: environmental conservation and microfinance. Electronic waste like cell phones pollute the environment (up to 35,000 gallons of water per phone) and microfinance has been proven to be an effective poverty alleviation tool.  In response to these … Read More >>

It seems just about every week, a journalist somewhere in the world will write a piece on microfinance and the effects the worldwide credit crisis will have on the sector. Most journalists and experts alike are optimistic that microfinance will weather the storm and could even be “the answer” to the international investment predicament we are slipping further and further into (find the article here: Raksin, Huffington Post). An article by … Read More >>