Crowdsourcing for dollars

It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to attend Pop!Tech, the heady thinkfest in Downeast Maine focusing on tech, ideas and projects that make the world a better place. So I was psyched to discover that they were streaming live video of the conference this year.

 

I tuned in just in time to hear Jessica Flannery talk about her remarkable non-profit venture, Kiva.org. While I’m still not completely sold on the social web’s “wisdom of crowds” crap, Kiva.org represents everything best about the virtues of crowdsourcing in my opinion.

 

For those not familiar, Kiva.org blends microfinance with social networking, enabling folks like you and me to loan money directly to entrepreneurs in the developing world so they can lift themselves out of poverty…

 

…like Margaret Wanjiru Njenga, a 50-year-old mother of five who could dramatically boost her family’s standard of living with a simple water pump for her struggling mushroom farm business….Or like Angel Asenov, a 29-year-old Bulgarian who needs a mere $850 to start his own bicycle repair shop.

 

In an Internet world where there’s a social network for virtually every social cause, Kiva.org stands out because it’s so simple, practical and effective. You and I become a social network of virtual bankers, of sorts, pooling our financial resources to fund life-changing small business ventures. Individual loans as small as $25 can quickly be pooled into the $1,200 that Margaret needs for her water pump. Unlike most charitable contributions, all the money goes directly to the target. The loans are interest-free with manageable repayment schedules. Everything is transparent, with direct interaction between the community of financiers and borrowers. While it may not be capitalism at its wisest, it is certainly capitalism at its finest.

 

And it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Although the loans are repaid to the lender, Kiva members tend to reinvest their funds in new ventures, again and again.

 

Can the Kiva model be extended to other philanthropic forms of entrepreneurship and venture funding? Probably. Can microfinancing networks be applied to for-profit lending opportunities? They already are, but I won’t give the sites any visibility here. Instead, with the office’s annual Holiday charity drive soon upon us, I’m going to recommend that this year we don’t donate any money. Let’s loan it instead.