I've blogged extensively about social finance and social lending.
One of the most successful examples that demonstrate this idea is Kiva, as they are backed by the likes of Bill Clinton!
Kiva is different to most social lending though as it's not about Joe and Jane saving for a wedding, but more about Saabir and Saabira seeking a few dollars in a remote village in Pakistan to support their basket-weaving business.
In other words, Kiva is a microfinance social lending service where average folks in developed economies can support and make money out of lending $25 to $50 to poor folks in emerging markets.
But it's quite hard to explain, as I discovered in talking through Kiva with various people.
So Kieran Ball, a Kiva fellow, has written a great blog entry how Kiva works.
As Kieran says: "I decided it would be
great to try and follow one loan through the system from start to
finish, for the benefit of my colleagues who I coaxed into making a
loan, and for myself, and for anyone else who is interested."
It took him three months to do this, and here's the result:
Beautiful!
I recommend you watch it, as you will both learn something and be entertained.
Note: if you're not aware, Kieran recommends you watch this in full screen by clicking on
the four arrows in the bottom right-hand corner of the video as you watch it.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...