Kiva co-founder, Matt Flannery, came to our school recently and he talked to us about how he started Kiva, what made him start it, what challenges he faced, and how it has grown. One of the pictures he showed us was of a Maasai warrior with a cell phone. He said that the cell phone had technology where you could text amounts of money to someone else. Matt said that this made money exchanging so much easier for microfinance organizations and other people. I wish we had that kind of technology. One of his challenges were that people thought it would never work. They wondered who in the world would lend money to a poor person with a chance of not getting it back or something? Matt Flannery proved them wrong. Kiva’s repayment rate as of 4/5/12 is 98.91%. So only 1% don’t pay back their loans. That’s a pretty high repayment rate. I wonder how much the cell phones cost?
BY MAX P.
Robin
Donohoe came with Matt Flannery to speak to fifth graders about how Kiva got
started. She works for a
non-profit organization called Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. They helped
provided the start-up money and business advice to Matt Flannery and his
partner when they started Kiva. Draper Richards and Kaplan Foundation gives money to businesses that they believe will
make a change in the world. I think that this is a great organization because
it gives businesses the chance to take off and actually help the world and
people in it. They have helped ideas like:
Girls For A Change
Living Goods
Room to Read
They are great non-profit organizations. All these organizations help to give people a good push up towards a better future. Robin’s Foundation is a special organization that helps the world thrive!
Girls For A Change
Living Goods
Room to Read
They are great non-profit organizations. All these organizations help to give people a good push up towards a better future. Robin’s Foundation is a special organization that helps the world thrive!
By Lizzy C-C
I think it's so interesting that people all over the world have cell phones and that cell phones are now being used for so many things. I also read that many of the people living on less than $2 per day do have mobile phones. “The quickest way to get rid of poverty right now, is to have one mobile telephone” said Nobel Laureate Muhammed Yunus. I am wondering all the different ways cell phones might help end poverty.
ReplyDeleteThat was really fun. He was really nice!
ReplyDeletemax: we are able to send money via our cell phones...but probably in a different way than the kiva-enabled recipients do. i have a paypal app on my phone that makes it really easy to send money from my linked bank account. i also know that political campaigns are now using simple text message codes to allow people to donate money quickly and easily. what a different world it is today from when i was in 5th grade!
ReplyDeleteNice post Lizzy!
ReplyDeleteNice post Lizzy!
ReplyDelete