Kiva.com is a service that works with banks in developing countries to fund micro-finance projects worldwide. The bank finds clients, then puts their request on the Kiva website. You put money into the system, find loan requesters, and then put your money into their loans. They take your money, do their project, and then pay it back. The people get their loan, and the bank gets the interest. Once its paid back, you can then reivest your money into another loan, or take it out and have it, once again, for your very own.

So, my friend, Gary, has made lots of loans. Right when I got to country, Kiva opended operations with a local bank called Mol Bulak, literally Many Springs. My other friend, a PCV here with me in Kyrgyzstan,  Dave, who worked with Kiva in Kenya, offered to help them get started, but found they were already very much on the ball, and didn’t need much helping. Since then, Gary has invested in two Kyrgyz groups, one that has already paid back in full, and this new one, a store in Kara Balta, a town near Bishkek.

Pretty sweet, I’d say. Check them out!