Since we talked about this a little in class, I wanted to give you all a few links to articles and websites on the topic.
Wikipedia gives a good overview in its article on microcredit, but it’s long and a little dry.
Kiva.org is one of the institutions that is helping to connect people who would like to lend money to people who need to borrow it.
A friend of mine just wrote in her own blog about her Kiva loans; she mentions that the default rate is below 3%.
This article mentions the idea that microlending might take off in the United States. It sounds strange, but a few years ago, no one would have thought that Craigslist would replace classified ads in newspapers!
About 2 weeks ago, I saw a breif news segment on CNN which stated that a branch of ‘Grameen Bank’ is now open in Queens, New York. Grameen Bank provides ‘micro loans’ to individuals who would not normally qualify for bank loans.
The news story featured a woman who did not have a social security number, and did not speak any English, who they provided a loan to, so she could open up a shoe store in her enclave (neighborhood), here in New York.
The founder of Grameen Bank was also featured in the story. He started the bank in Bangladash, where it is a huge success. The bank is well known in developing countries.
L’OCCITANE makes high end creams, lotions and skincare products. Their stuff is really expensive because they use high quality, natural, and organic ingredients. And shea butter from Burkina Faso is one of their most used ingredients. This link (http://foundation.loccitane.com/doc/194_1927_3444.pdf) shows how employees at L’OCCITANE are trying to be socially responsible. Instead of just taking advantage of Burkina Faso’s resources, they are using the micro-credit system to help the women who helped their company.
The man, who founded the Grameen Bank 30 years ago, won the Nobel Prize on 2006. I found an article about him that was published in The New York Times.
I think you would like it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/world/asia/14nobel.html