The power of your loan

By Drew Loizeaux, KF8 Philippines

The last 4 months working as a Kiva Fellow have allowed me an up close look at many different sides of microfinance. It has been fascinating for me to see and made me look at the loans I make through Kiva in a different way.

As Kiva Lenders, our money not only goes to the borrowers themselves, but through our interest free loans we are also directly supporting each Kiva Partner that we lend through. Each Kiva Partner is different, and no matter what your reason is for believing in the power of microfinance, there is an organization that will fit your philosophy. In the same way that you may buy local, fair trade or made in the USA products you also can put your money in an MFI who’s mission you connect with. This is a powerful tool that each lender can, and should appreciate.

At ASKI for example, the MFI I am currently working with, the revenues from the microcredit program go to fund many other social programs that help enrich the lives of not only their clients, but also the communities in which they live. Below you can see are a few videos that highlight the ripple affects our loans can have.

This is a presentation I attended last week, where a member of a local ASKI sponsored youth group explains a village water project they are working on.

ASKI has always looked to provide more than just microcredit to their clients; ASKI Foundation was created last year to formalize and strengthen some of ASKI’s “Beyond Microfinance” programs. You can see ASKI Foundation General Manager, Bogg Burbos, talk about its programs further in the video below.

While we may be only directly funding one Entrepreneur at a time when we make a loan on Kiva.org, seeking out information about the MFI that supports the entrepreneur and understanding what the revenues from our loans will be used to do can enhance and enrich the lending experience. Happy lending!

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To learn more about ASKI you can visit their website here.

To see ASKI loans currently funding click here.

To join the ASKI lending team click here.

Drew Loizeaux has been a Kiva Fellow since Febuary 2009 and is currently working at Kiva’s partner ASKI in the Philippines.

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