American Loans

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.