Comments on: Microfinance in the US: Will There Be a Green Focus?

By: Carly Smolak

Carly Smolak — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:12:03 +0000

I have $500 sitting in a Kiva account that was given to me for my birthday. I can’t decide who to give it to because I want to make sure that the beneficiary is someone who has sustainable operations. The recent findings that microfinance may not really be having that great of an impact on eliminating poverty made me think about the fact that most microlending doesn’t screen for social or environmental factors. Perhaps if they did, we would see an even greater impact of microlending…

By: Elizabeth Israel

Elizabeth Israel — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:57:07 +0000

Please visit our website at: http://www.GreenMicrofinance.com

We at GreenMicrofinance are launching the GreenMicrofinance Loan Fund for financing clean energy, water, and agriculture. This is an environmental investment project that could become a model for the entire developing world.

A New ‘Green Vision’ for the Developing World Jamii Bora’s Visionary New Partnership with GreenMicrofinance…
http://www.cnbc.com/id/32984475

By: steven

steven — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:29:23 +0000

I love that Kiva has met with such great success in following the leads that Grameen & Accion International so effectively created. Microfinance is a boon to sustainability around the world. Political agendas are probably not playing a role in who gets loans and should also not be considered in anything Kiva does domestically in the US. There should, however, be certain criteria for these loans given the differing circumstances in the US market. Encouraging and favoring those entrepreneurial efforts that add to our movement towards sustainable businesses would be a huge help to our economy and well-being. I would love to see a baseline triple bottom line set of metrics in place to assess potential loans and to monitor them once they have been disbursed. Pie-in-the-sky? Perhaps, but our economy needs to take into consideration essential elements of sustainability in order to remain vibrant.

By: Bob Dillman

Bob Dillman — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:43:43 +0000

Nice article by Scott but the real opportunity for KIVA is to help fund small scale green technology projects to its current demographics. To rapidly combat global climate change, a more cutting edge vehicle to help get useful capital into the hands of “bottom of the pyramid” would serve both the poorest and the planet more rapidly. As much as green investment here in the U.S. would help limit consumption, it would actually help change HOW small communities grow worldwide and limit their consumption habits for years to come.

By: Erica

Erica — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:18:51 +0000

Check out the numerous “green” microloans that ACCION USA has funded on kiva.org
Josh sells used clothing online…
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=125095&_tpos=10&_tpg=1

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=128761&_tpos=1&_tpg=2

By: Nick Aster

Nick Aster — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:34:27 +0000

I think it’s potentially divisive to bring Joe the Plumber into this. Granted I understand that his inclusion is meant to mock a caricature of the ignorant buffoon, many people in America relate to him as a hard working independent. There’s also nothing especially “ungreen” about him, other than the assumptions we make based on political stereotypes.

Kiva understands that happy, prosperous people are a critical aspect of any approach to sustainability – you can forget the environment if people have no means to make ends meet. But assuming that many folks are not especially green minded in the pursuit of these micro-loans, it makes sense for Kiva to at least make “green” thinking a priority and perhaps favor prospective clients who understand this or at least express an interest in understanding it.