Really...who can get enough of Senerita? Ok, I'm biased. I spent a bunch of time with her and her husband a fell in love with their kind and open spirits. This video clip is based on an interview with Karil Daniels, an independent filmmaker from San Francisco who has made a bunch of grants through Kiva to women entrepreneurs around the world. Because she used an Advanta business credit card on the Kiva site, Advanta invited her to come to Philadelphia to meet Senerita, one of the recipients of her grants. It was the first time that a Kiva borrower and a Kiva lender met in the US. I had the chance to spend time with them together in the city. You can see some of the pictures from one of the series of posts from 'Senerita's story.' (click here for some of the story and pictures)
Kiva.org: May 2008 Archives
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Of course, Inc. Magazine has a website and, of course, that website has a blog. It might be called Fresh Inc., but regardless it's their staff blog. Inc.com, in collaboration with Mansueto Ventures -- the company that publishes the print and online
editions of Inc. and Fast Company -- sponsored some entrepreneurs through Kiva. Tamara Schweitzer said, "I wanted to provide readers with as many details as possible about the
day-to-day lives of small business owners in developing countries and
how exactly access to microfinance was impacting their operations."
Many of my posts on this blog documented my travels and experiences with Senerita, a loan recipient from Samoa who came to the US to meet the woman who gave her a loan through Kiva. Tamara's post reminded me of why Kiva is so unique. Making a loan (or officially a grant) through Kiva is really a unique opportunity to feel the impact of your intention. Tamara's post provides a wonderful glimpse into the life of a loan recipient. I heartily recommend the post.
Click here for the jump.
Many of my posts on this blog documented my travels and experiences with Senerita, a loan recipient from Samoa who came to the US to meet the woman who gave her a loan through Kiva. Tamara's post reminded me of why Kiva is so unique. Making a loan (or officially a grant) through Kiva is really a unique opportunity to feel the impact of your intention. Tamara's post provides a wonderful glimpse into the life of a loan recipient. I heartily recommend the post.
Click here for the jump.
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Matt Flannery, CEO and co-founder of Kiva.org was recently interviewed by the Harvard Political Review (Link Here).
It's a great interview, but the final question generated a very interesting response about the ability of technology to unlock peoples' generosity and to empower them in the face of so much injustice. The empowerment, he claims, comes from ease of use. Is it all about the user experience?
Harvard Political Review: What has Kiva taught you about the world and about social entrepreneurship?
Matt Flannery: My experience working at Kiva has taught me that people are a lot more motivated and generous than you think. If you merely provide an easy way for them to channel their social motivation, their generosity is something you can unlock; if you really tap into the source, it's really powerful. When I started Kiva, I was quite pessimistic about its potential. My mind has been changed and I've been just blown away. People were looking to reach out to other people in this way--they just didn't have the opportunity. They felt disempowered. Technology and the internet can allow normal people to feel empowered again, and that's been really exciting for me.
It's a great interview, but the final question generated a very interesting response about the ability of technology to unlock peoples' generosity and to empower them in the face of so much injustice. The empowerment, he claims, comes from ease of use. Is it all about the user experience?Harvard Political Review: What has Kiva taught you about the world and about social entrepreneurship?
Matt Flannery: My experience working at Kiva has taught me that people are a lot more motivated and generous than you think. If you merely provide an easy way for them to channel their social motivation, their generosity is something you can unlock; if you really tap into the source, it's really powerful. When I started Kiva, I was quite pessimistic about its potential. My mind has been changed and I've been just blown away. People were looking to reach out to other people in this way--they just didn't have the opportunity. They felt disempowered. Technology and the internet can allow normal people to feel empowered again, and that's been really exciting for me.