Kiva Fellows Program

Spreading the word: MFIs and Publicity

Nov 7, 2009

By Julie Pachico, KF9 Mexico A big part of the loan officers’ work load at FVP is “prospectando,” or heading out into the field and reaching out to potential clients. When I was first invited to come along I was a little nervous, as my career as a canvasser lasted for all of one day and [...]

-- posted by Julie at Nov 7, 2009

Cuenca-stic Times!

Nov 7, 2009

By Zal Bilimoria, KF9, Ecuador Over the past four weeks here in Ecuador, I’ve had the opportunity to see much of the country, starting out in Quito working at Fundacion ESPOIR’s administrative office, and now in Portoviejo near the coast to conduct borrower verifications and write journal updates, among other tasks.  Since Ecuador is a relatively [...]

-- posted by zalzally at Nov 7, 2009

CCT Borrowers Often Work in the Sidelines

Nov 6, 2009

By Prem Thomas, KF9, Manila, Philippines After visiting many Kiva CCT borrowers, I noticed a trend that the primary business requiring a loan is not the only source of income. In the Philippines side jobs are referred to as “sidelines” or “extra income”. I have met a teachers who also sell clothing, farmers who rent out [...]

-- posted by Prem Thomas at Nov 6, 2009

The Most Bizarre Client Interview (Part 2 of 2)

Nov 6, 2009

By Eva Wu, KF9 Philippines Bizarre is probably not the best word to describe this client interview, but without a doubt we were intrigued and utterly fascinated by the alien-looking blob we saw sitting pretty before us. Corroi, HSPFI’s Kiva Coordinator and I found ourselves staring at a live (or semi-live) sea cucumber during a visit [...]

-- posted by evacwu at Nov 6, 2009

My Motorcycle Diary from Guayaquil

Nov 6, 2009

By Kimia Raafat, KF9 Ecuador Last week, I blogged about D-MIRO’s influence in the peri-urban zones of Guayaquil.  There is no way to describe the dedicated D-MIRO staff members and the lengths they go to reach those marginalized from the traditional financial system. So I opted to film a sample day! Here is “My Motorcycle Diary”: Fun Facts about Ecuador: Ecuador’s currency is [...]

-- posted by Kimia at Nov 6, 2009

Verb rules and road duels

Nov 5, 2009

By Rob Packer, KF9 Kyrgyzstan As anyone who’s had a brush with Russian will tell you, going somewhere and using the Russian language to describe it is traumatic. It’s a nosy language I feel likes to keep tabs on me and wants to know all kinds of personal details like if I’m walking or running, driving [...]

-- posted by robpacker at Nov 5, 2009

A Slice of the Pie

Nov 5, 2009

By Victoria Kabak, KF9, Nicaragua Before I left for my placement as a Kiva Fellow in Nicaragua, I was browsing my microfinance institution’s web site, trying to see what I could learn from it and to familiarize myself with the organization, AFODENIC, a bit more. I clicked on a link in the left sidebar called “Fuentes [...]

-- posted by Victoria at Nov 5, 2009

Hey, Joe

Nov 4, 2009

By Adam Preston, KF9, Philippines The Filipinos are a very generous people.  So generous, in fact, that if they don’t know your name, they will even give you a name – and that name is Joe.  I am greeted in this way no less than 3 or 4 times in a day, coming from men and [...]

-- posted by Adam at Nov 4, 2009

I might be falling for microfinance.

Nov 4, 2009

Alana Solimeo, KF9, Costa Rica I realized after letting the excitement of Kiva, Costa Rica, and research topics (exhibited in previous post Rice, Beans and an Inspired Hypothesis) settle that I might want to take a step back.  The thing is I hit the ground running here, thanks to the great work of my predecessor Kiva [...]

-- posted by Alana at Nov 4, 2009

The people who borrow

Nov 4, 2009

By Jane Lim, KF9 Mongolia Today my envy of other Kiva fellows faded because I finally, finally got to meet Kiva borrowers. There is a certain sadness that most of these borrowers have. For some it’s buried deep beneath stoicism and the victories of subsequent success, but for others it’s brimming at the surface, and you get [...]

-- posted by Jane at Nov 4, 2009