Micro Loans - Meet Marivic In The Philippines

For over 10 years I have been lending small amounts of money to individuals in Third World Countries to help them start or expand small businesses.

These are called micro loans. An individual might need $500 to buy equipment. I can lend the person as little as $25 and my funds go into a pool to help that person. I don't earn any interest but the borrower pays interest and the interest is used to cover the cost of operating and administering the loans.

Here is an introduction to the most recent person I have helped.

Marivic is a 38-year-old mother who lives in Carles, Iloilo (Philippines). She was blessed with one son and two daughters. Her husband is a fisherman, but she still buys more fish to sell.

Basically, Marivic has a buy-and-sell business in addition to fishing. She plans to expand this business, which is why she asked for a loan from KIVA. Marivic will buy a variety of fish, crabs, and shrimp to offer more to her customers and boost her sales as well as her profits.

The bigger part of this loan will help Marivic buy a new engine for their fishing boat.

You can get involved and open an account with as little as $25 and start lending out money. There are hundreds of potential borrowers around the world. You can pick the countries you want to help and then focus in on men or women, or both.

Check it out at KIVA.org.

97% of all the money that I have lent out has been paid back by the borrowers.