Do You Want To Be A Venture Capitalist?

This morning I came across possibly one of coolest crowdsourcing platforms in a while. Kiva is an awesome platform that take the concept of microfinancing and mixes it with the concept of crowdsourcing and global reach it offers. The basic idea is that you can help entrepreneurs raise money, through micro-loans. All you have to do is pick and entrepreneur (from anywhere in the world) who's idea you believe in and lend them a small amount of cash - from $25 upwards - with the ultimate goal of getting repaid once the idea becomes successful. Initiatives like this are far better for developing countries than donations to corrupt governments and once more Kiva is a non-profit organisation!

In Swahili, the word “kiva” means “agreement” or “unity” - which basically sums up the way it works. Lenders choose a business and make a loan by using a credit card online at the Kiva website. Kiva then transfers the loan proceeds to local partners, who distribute the loans to the businesses. Over time, the local partner collects repayments and offers business updates through Kiva. Ultimately, your loan is repaid and you can withdraw the money or lend it to another business. We think this is a perfect example of what you can do by tapping into the power of a collective crowd, each giving what they can when they can. We will be watching this one closely!