Despite what Bill Clinton tells you, Kiva.org is not yet up and running in India (but it is in 25 other developing countries)
I probably should’ve addressed this a long time ago… I started this blog mainly for friends to get an update on my personal life, but I get a ton of emails about Kiva.org and India, mostly people asking when we’ll be live so they can loan to entrepreneurs in India. So maybe Kiva and Indicorps are a part of my personal life and I should include more about them here…
Part of my work involves getting Kiva.org set up in India. Due to a number of circumstances, most involving the Reserve Bank of India’s rules about who can borrow from foreign sources, this process has taken far longer than my wildest imaginations when I came here. Every time I think there is a solution, another problem presents itself, and another bureaucratic hurdle makes itself known. Still though, there is hope, and this time, I’m serious… We’re close to a solution and hope to be live with Indian businesses shortly.
Bill Clinton talked about Kiva.org yesterday in his address to the CTIA (the wireless association)…
“In India, Clinton said, small-time entrepreneurs are making good on micro-loans made through sites such as Kiva.org and are rising above the poverty line by purchasing cell phones and then leasing them out to their neighbors. “
Source
It’s a wonderful honor for WJC to be talking about us (he previously honored Kiva.org at his Clinton Global Initiative last year), but what he said about Kiva in India isn’t exactly true just yet. We hope to be there really soon, and hope that you’ll join in by making loans when we are live here… I think there is a really exciting future in store for Kiva in India. If you want to know more, or have any way to help, let me know.
In the meantime, make a loan to an entrepreneur in another country - they need your help:
By the way, there’s a post below this one that I just wrote today (yeah, 2 posts in one day - crazy considering my slackitude on the posting lately)
