[This is part of a series of posts that will extend through the entire year of 2009 twice monthly according to my original post "My pledge to Kiva for 2009". To view all of my Kiva projects, take a moment to check out my Kiva lending page.]
In this week’s Kiva Pledge Update I am supporting Bakary Diakité, a metal worker in Bougouni, Mali. This is my first Kiva loan to Mali.
According to their Kiva business page:
Mr. Bakary Diakité, age 24, has no children. He lives with his wife in a large family in his father’s place in the Massablacoura district of Bougouni City (third administrative region of the Republic of Mali). He was not placed into school by his parents due to societal reasons. Soon, he started earning an income. For some years, he tried different businesses without success. He ultimately opted to learn the trade of welding from his maternal uncle. With eight years of experience with his uncle, Bakary now has a good command of this trade and is much appreciated and in high demand in Bougouni.
In his search for supplemental financial resources to make his workshop more profitable (by equipping it with the electrical power indispensable for his work), Bakary decided to join the loan program of the micro-finance institution Soro Yiriwaso. He is now on his first individual loan. This loan will be used to cover the costs of joining the power grid of the energy company of Mali Société Énergie du Mali (EDM) for his workshop located in the area where he lives.
With customers from all walks of life, he envisions realizing a monthly profit of 25,000 francs CFA that will be used to improve his enterprise. His ambition is to attract more customers and to do better in satisfying them.
Stay tuned for the next Kiva Pledge Update on August 16th.
by Sam
10 Aug 2009 at 12:50
Josef,
What a wonderful resolution! Your commitment to social justice and African empowerment is spectacular. I work at ACCION USA, one of the two Kiva field partners operating in the United States, and we’ve been hearing a lot about our recent partnership with Kiva to provide small business loans to entrepreneurs domestically. Kiva has been receiving a lot of flak lately for their decision to begin facilitating loans to US borrowers. AUSA believes passionately in the value of local small business and accessible credit, having offered domestic microloans now for over a decade. With the ability to enrich communities, empower individuals, and increase economic opportunities, small businesses constitute a vital sector of our economy.
One common criticism of Kiva’s support for first world lending is that it will draw funds away from needier foreign borrowers. Yet a recent report from Kiva shows that lending has ballooned since they announced the support of domestic loans on their platform. Domestic loans do not happen at the expense of foreign borrowers. Moreover, by permitting loans to US microentrepreneurs, Kiva has allowed AUSA to provide access to credit to many individuals who would have otherwise been without financial resources. Our partnership has been incredibly exciting for us, revealing just how passionately people feel about microfinance and its applications. Do you have any input regarding Kiva’s decision to begin lending in the United States? Looking through your archives, I was surprised that you didn’t address the program when it debuted on June 10th. It’s clear that you’re passionate about microfinance and we’d love to hear some feedback from you.
If you’re curious about the specifics of Kiva’s domestic lending program, please visit their blog. To learn more about ACCION USA’s operations, check out our resources online and follow our blog and our twitter account (@ACCION_USA)!
by Josef Scarantino
10 Aug 2009 at 17:59
Thanks Sam for the kind note on my resolution. I’m planning on repeating my resolution in 2010 and possibly doubling my contribution to donate weekly instead of twice a month. Hopefully this will inspire people to make similar commitments to giving whether in their local community or in another continent.
Surprisingly, you’re the only person who asked me what I thought about Kiva opening up lending to U.S. entrepreneurs. Bravo on asking me and many others online about our thoughts on behalf of ACCION USA.
Personally, I joined Kiva because of what they were doing in countries I cared deeply about but were limited as to what I could do in those countries. As cheesy as it sounds, it was my way of “giving back” to people who inspired me to do what I’m doing with my life. I don’t have an opinion about Kiva lending to U.S. entrepreneurs, simply because I don’t see myself partaking in that and I don’t see how it affects me.
Kiva is still what it has always been to me because nothing has really changed. Now, that’s not to say it is a perfectly flawless decision on Kiva’s part as some criticism might have pointed out. No organization is perfect in its decisions and only time will tell an organizations’ flaws.
Poverty exists in all countries and, yes, is relative to those countries’ economies (as critics have pointed out). But it does exist and is very real to those who live in it. I’m not going to discount where people decide to give, as it is their choice. Heck, even Africa has dramatic differences in the definition of poverty country to country from the slums of Nairobi to the beach-side resorts of Cape Town.
I view supporting organizations not much differently than supporting a political party. You don’t have to agree with everything they stand for, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of what you are really passionate about and their true mission. All organizations have blemishes and waste to some extent, some more than others. Neither is perfect, but woe to the man who fails to realize this in either organizations or politics and “drinks the kool-aid,” so-to-speak and supports without considering the flaws. It can have life-altering consequences for many people.
As for me, I’m going to continue giving through Kiva well into 2010.
by Sam
11 Aug 2009 at 12:08
I totally understand your compulsion to lend in African. Having seen the conditions there and interacted with people of that region, it’s natural for you to feel a connection and an obligation to them. Yet I love that you recognize that not everyone has this same bond, and it’s an important component of a Kiva loan.
As you suggest, lenders select their borrowers for a number of reasons, one of which is clearly a desire to improve someone’s life and potentially escape poverty–yet even in the developing world, there are massive disparities between borrowers. It would be silly to dismiss lending in the US simply because the people tend to have higher incomes. Someone who has worked in impoverished American communities, I guarantee feels similarly about domestic poverty as you do African indigence.
I especially appreciate your mature perspective on Kiva as an organization. It baffles me that people abandoned Kiva as a consequence of their support of domestic lending. As many on the Kiva forum have expressed, if you don’t like the program, vote with your wallet! It’s not as if Kiva expanded its lending audience with malicious intent. Even if you think they made a mistake by allowing contributors to lend in the states, to feel betrayed or slighted is an overreaction.
As for you Josef, keep on talking about Kiva–it’s wonderful exposure for the mifi community. And more importantly, keep on giving!