Microlending in the USA

For years, social entrepreneurs in the U.S.  have applauded microlending programs as tools for wealth generation in poor countries.  The programs, generlly based on the model established by Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, provide small loans to entrepreneurs who ordinarily do not qualify for bank financing.  Until recently, microloan programs were confined primarily to the poorest nations.

Recently, the Community Development Law Clinic that I supervise in North Carolina has received requests from local groups wishing to form microloan programs in their communities.  And it appears that microloan programs’ migration to the US is not confined to my home state.  The Wall Street Journalreported recently that Kiva, a nonprofit known for helping foreign entrepreneurs receive microloans, is beginning to do business along the U.S. Gulf Coast.  Kiva is the best known of the so-called “crowdfunding” organizations that act as a portal, matching donors who want to loan to microentrepreneurs with low income people who need capital to start businesses.

TAK