Kiva Heros

LCubed are giving a bit back to the world … we are delighted to announce we have just established a Kiva Team. If you have no idea what that actually is or whether I’m even speaking English – let me elaborate.

Kiva is a NFP site that facilitates lending to entrepreneurs in countries across the world that are relatively short changed when it comes to all things financial.

The basic premise is an individuals or groups creates an account, add funds to said account and then pledges these funds to candidates who are listed on the Kiva site. Each entrepreneur or group is listed with details about the type of enterprise they are in, what they require the loan for, their repayment history and a short personal profile. The lending and repayment t&cs range in duration and due diligence is placed on the lender and the field partner to ensure repayments are made. The process is comprehensively screened prior to candidates becoming eligible for funds –more information on the organization can be found here.

We love what the organization stands for –  it promotes generousity, global connections and contributes to value and self worth, dignity and accountability in cultures where opportunity and the daily struggles in life are different from our own.

To date we have lent money to two Kiva entrepreneurs who have fulfilled our selection requirements…

To aid in our selection process we have drawn up some criteria for our entrepreneur candidates are from one or any of the following: http://www.kiva.org

• Women
• Maternal health
• Have some sort of “connection” to the candidate (technology etc.)
• By location – one from each continent
• Education

Introducing our first Kiva heroes – introducing the following entrepreneurs:

• Marcia Del Socorro Salazar Camacho – Loan: 100% / Continent: North America / Gender: Female
  Marcia Del Socorro, 52, sells food and provides transportation services. She has had this business for over 11 years. It has been a very satisfactory way for her to obtain a source of income to support her four children.

  Her mother was the original owner of the business and as time went by she taught Marcia everything she needed to learn to run it. Every day she makes the effort to provide better service.

  She is using the money to buy basic grains, cooking oil, vegetables and firewood.
  http://www.kiva.org/lend/248725

• Consolacion Asoque -  Continent: Asia / Gender: Female
  Consolacion is an active entrepreneur who manages a sari-sari (variety) store. She would like to purchase more foodstuffs for her store. This will allow her to grow her business further so that her family experiences a life that is full of fulfillment. With the support of ASHI and Kiva lenders, Consolacion is hopeful that her business endeavor will provide a steady income and improve her family’s quality of life, which is currently underneath an umbrella of poverty. She hopes that her business will expand so that they are able to make some savings for future use.
  http://www.kiva.org/lend/250706

There still remains funds in the pool to distribute across the continents. We’ll be updating soon with our latest recruits.

If you are interested in getting involved and would like to join out team – we will be opening invitations to the group in the near future. Drop us a line if you are interested.