Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified borrowers. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva.org, our partners upload their borrower profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them.

Kiva is using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant,

inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you

to lend them money.

Tran Tai Dan (Soc Son, Vietnam)"If you need to buy eggs, go see Ms Dân in Tân Minh village. Her eggs are big, with a big yolk. Her chickens are meaty. And she give you good prices", that's what people from the Vệ Sơn Đoài hamlet are saying about Ms Dân. She is 55 years old, a member of TYM since 1995 in the Tân Minh village. Her success today is due to hard work and determination. She started with a loan of 20 USD which was used to raise chickens thus supplying food to her family.

Tran Tai Dan (Soc Son, Vietnam)The next year, due to the successful sales of her batch of chickens, she was confident enough to take out a loan to buy 200 chickens. In 2006, she received a loan of 625 USD which was used to expand her operation, building new cages for her chickens. Today, she has 250 egg laying chickens, 1300 for meat. Her revenue is 300 USD a month. Ms Dân is very happy about her success and she hopes to be able to expand her operation again.

Salma Kumpuni (Dar es Sallam, Tanzania)

Salma Kumpuni is 45 years old and is married with seven children. In 2005 Salma established a grains business. Salma has already received and successfully repaid one loan from SELFINA. She thanks you for your support

Betilu Santa Cruz Silva (Ayacucho, Peru)Betilu is 30 years old and has two small children, one is 5 years old and the other is 7. Betilu and her husband sell crockery and glassware. In the beginning they did not have much merchandise and sold as street vendors in the city of Ayacucho. Currently she has a stall at the Galeria Santa Rosa that she manages, her husband at times still sells on the streets. Betilu wishes to be able to rent a space that is centrally located and large to be able to have more customers

Rehana Bibi Group(Raiwind, Pakistan)My name is Rehana Bibi. I have lived all my life in a small town, Raiwind. I am a mother of five kids. My husband sells vegetables on a cart. We have earlier invested a loan in this business which turned into better profits. He buys vegetables from a nearby vegetable market and has been in this business since his teens

Rehana Bibi Group(Raiwind, Pakistan)These women are very responsible. Now, I introduce them to you: Rani Bibi needs a loan to invest in their vegetables business, Sufia Bibi requires a loan for their rice business, Mukhtar Bibi will invest her loan to buy cloth for her cloth selling business, Haneefan Bibi has a livestock trading business and plans to expand it.

Klever Solis (Guayagil, Ecuador)Mr. Klever dedicates himself to the sale of juices that he makes himself. His wife helps him run the business. They have been making and selling juices for seven years. They primarily sell to workers in their sector. Mr. Klever needs a loan to buy more raw materials for making juices and buy a new juicer because the current one does not work. He is 42 years old and has a 4 year-old son. His wife helps him manage his home, which is made of cement

Ramila Ahmadova (Fuzuli region, Azerbaijan)Ramila is a mother of one child. She was born in 1983. This woman is Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from the Armenian-occupied territory of Azerbaijan, Fuzuli town, now settled in the Fuzuli region. Ramila's husband (pictured) has worked as a taxi driver for 5 years. Now they need a loan to repair a car and improve their business.

Hamid Askarov (Fuzuli region, Azerbaijan)Hamid is a married man with two children. He is a 54-year-old Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from the Armenian-occupied territory of Azerbaijan, now living in Fuzuli town and settled in the Finnish houses, which are built temporarily on the front line in the Fuzuli region.Hamid operates a general store and has been in this business for 10 years.

Rasim Agayev (Fuzuli region, Azerbaijan)

Rasim was born in 1959. He has been in the dairy business for seven years. He is an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from Armenian-occupied Fuzuli town in Azerbaijan and is settled in the Fuzuli region, in Kayidish village, which was built for IDPs. Rasim is married and has three children.

Valentina Huseynova (Fuzuli region, Azerbaijan)

Valentina (her husband is pictured) was born in 1948. She is the mother of three children. Valentina is an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from Armenian-occupied Fuzuli town in Azerbaijan and is settled in the Fuzuli region in Kayidish village, which was built for IDPs. Ten years ago her family started their cattle-breeding business.

Salaina Tukirizi Group (Nateete, Uganda)Fatuma intends to buy a fridge and construct a house from the profits of her business. She and her friends, Sulaina, Jalia, Safina, and Ramla, will each receive a share of this loan so that they can invest in their businesses and increase their profit. They will support each other in repaying the loan in a timely manner. They all are intent on improving the financial situations of their families.

Khadeeja Munir Group (Chichawatni, Pakistan)

I am Khadeeja Munir. I am married and a mother of four: two girls and two boys. We live in a small house in Chichwatni, a small town in Pakistan. All of my kids are currently completing their studies. My husband operates a grocery store to make a living. At present, we need a loan for our grocery store, to buy a stock for it. I stitch clothes at my house to supplement my husbands income and ensure that my kids keep attending school.

Fadia Matar (Aley-Chouf, Lebanon)

Fadia is a 49-year-old mother of 5. She lives with her family in the Chouf. Fadia knits and makes other kinds of handicrafts. She is supporting her family with the revenue of her business. She needs to buy the necessary material to sustain and develop her business

Kokou Folitse (Amoussoukope, Togo)For the past 10 years, Mr. Kokou Folitse has been working as a carpenter. He is married to two women and is a 32 year old father of six children. Thanks to his bravery and the quality of his furniture pieces, he has gained the confidence of the majority of the population. Thanks to the income from his business, he can provide for the needs of his family and manages to save. With this loan, he would like to buy a hundred boards and 50 chevrons in order to continue to make his furniture masterpieces.

Mikumi A Group (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)Grace, age 38, is married with 5 children (ages 22, 17, 15, 15, and 11). She owns a kiosk which she began 6 years ago. Her business is open from 7am to 10pm daily, and she makes a monthly profit of about $36. In the past, Grace took out 2 previous loans with Tujijenge Tanzania to increase her kiosk business. She now hopes for a new loan to increase the same business and to open a food stand.

Sama Botcho (Agoe, Togo)Mr Botcho is a mechanic by profession , but does not have a workshop. He is married and has two children. He is living in a desperate situation with his family. To find solutions to his situation, he approached HELP Africa to request a loan of 675 dollars to buy a motorcycle in order to turn it into a Moto Taxi. He will drive it himself as a moto taxi driver to make some money daily by carrying women to the market.

Agnes Londo (Agoe, Togo)

Mrs. Agnès Londo is married and a mother of four children. She is in the textile business . She is requesting a loan to buy more textiles and materials and to hire other women to sell. By doing so, she will be able to sell quickly, make a profit. Thank you for supporting her business!