Microfinance Interface

Program to allow parents to apply for micro-loans through the various microfinance organizations

    Microfinance involves small (roughly US$20-$500) loans given so people can get the first leg-up out of a poverty cycle. They are repaid with almost no interest, and with somewhat flexible terms (people aren't punished with late fees if they can only pay partially one month; they might make it up the next month for example).

    Kiva.org is an interesting take on this because it lets anyone in the world loan amounts as small as $25 from paypal to real people with full profiles on their site.  Every month you see journal entries about their progress and see what they were able to pay back that month. Kiva.org uses microfinance organizations in each country who meet with the people who apply for a loan each month and coach them to ensure it gets used properly.

    The OLPC will be a miracle for people who could use this sort of loan. Microfinance is so important that I think there should be an interface where the children's parents can apply, and get in touch with the lending organizations. It could have a program that takes the kids and their parents through putting all the info together and submitting it to be screened. Ones that are credible would then be contacted to meet with the organization's field people to look into getting a loan. Finally if approved these profiles would be posted on Kiva or a similar site, where normal people can fill bits of the loan until the amount is reached.

    Putting this seed into rural villages would help an incredible number of people; right now the barrier to entry in applying for micro-loans is knowing who to contact and having some access to the Internet.