I usually try to lend to the entrepreneurs in the poorest countries, to get the most use out of my money. And I think a lot of other people share this basic idea. That may be why so many people have issues with Kiva operating in America. (It's hard to gauge how upset people really are. I've seen complaints in different forums, but these may just be the same people who complain about any type of change.)
If you only have $25 dollars to spend, I think it's better to give it to someone in a developing nation than to someone in America. But not everybody looks at it that way. Many people strongly prefer to help a more local community, and Kiva is wise to try to grab that market. There are some other big players in Peer-to-Peer lending, and I think it makes a lot of sense for Kiva to compete with them.
I searched for micro-lending opportunities for a while before I found Kiva. I instantly recognized that their site and methods were incredibly easier and more fun to use than other organizations. And having worked with their data, I'm impressed with how clean and logical it is. In the areas I'm qualified to judge, Kiva is operating much better than most organizations. Expanding to new markets seems like an easy choice.
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Some of your data goes only to June 2009. I am curious about the effect of introducing US loans on subsequent lending patterns July and onwards: i.e. monthly rate of growth in loans and in new memberships before and after, loans per lender etc.
ReplyDeleteI personally agree with you about lending where we can do the most good for those with the fewest options. This issue has certainly polarized the Kiva community, but it's been hard to find data on the actual effect on Kiva lending, if any.
You've done some EXCELLENT work here, with beautifully presented data! Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your comment. Kiva has done some analysis of American loans, and it looks like they have a very positive effect. Take a look at this presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/kivamicrofunds/kiva-us-loans-impact-analysis
ReplyDeleteThere are some really great Kiva presentations on that site, I'm surprised Kiva doesn't advertise them more.