Kiva Lender: The Kolb Family Fund
| Location: | Belmont, MA, www.kivafriends.org United States |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Sr. Product Manager at Nuance Communications |
| I loan because: | We have a close relationship to Latin America. Our general experience with traditional forms of development aid is, that -although necessary for building infrastructure, education, and health care- they often don't have the grassroots effect that allows an economy to be built from the bottom up. We believe that someone that has the skills and determination to get ahead should be encouraged to do so in a way that allows this person to thrive. Helping micro-finance small Latin American entrepreneurs is our contribution to exporting the "American Dream" of getting ahead by working hard. Is micro-financing the fix-all solution for poverty in developing countries? Should it replace traditional forms of development aid and other economic stimuli like providing titles for property? Definitely not. However, it does provide those that see an opportunity the wherewithal to exploit the opportunity. Following the example of some other Kiva lenders, we are trying to build up a Latin America focused microfinance family investment fund by investing $25 twice a month into a new business. After a year, we will have $600 invested in micro-businesses that will create a continuous, self-sustaining investment stream as loans get paid off. At that point, we will re-evaluate to see if this investment system works, and if we want to increase our investment base or "retire" from it. - Proud member of Pondering Pig's Kiva Investment Group. (See tinyurl.com/2fhzqj ) - See also our Kiva related blog at kivaramon.blogspot.com - See a map of all our loans at Google's My Map - here: tinyurl.com/2z2f2q - Please visit KivaFriends for a community of Kiva lenders - www.kivafriends.org - The Kolb Family is Verónica, Alexandra, Lucas, and Ramón. América Latina está cerca a nuestro corazón. Nuestra experiencia con las formas tradicionales de ayuda de desarrollo es, -aunque necesario para el desarrollo de la infraestructura, la educación, y la salud pública, que muchas veces no contribuyen al crecimiento económico de negocios pequeños. Si alguien tiene las habilidades y la determinación para seguir adelante, tenemos el deber moral de crear las condiciones que le permite prosperar. El apoyo a micro-financiar empresarios individuales en América Latina es nuestra manera de contribuir al “sueño americano” de seguir adelante en la vida por trabajo y inversión en su mismo. ¿Será micro-financiamiento la única solución para eliminar pobreza en países de desarrollo? ¿Debería que remplazar los métodos tradicionales de apoyo al desarrollo, y otros estimuladores como extender títulos de propiedad? ¡Definitivamente no! Pero micro-financiamiento da a los fondos para elaborar una oportunidad económica a los que más necesitan. Siguiendo el ejemplo de otros prestamistas de Kiva, estamos tratando de establecer un fondo familiar de micro-inversión enfocado en América Latina. Invertiremos US$25 dos veces por mes en un negocio nuevo. Después de un año, el fondo habrá invertido US$600 en micro-empresas y creará una fuente continua de inversiones mientras los préstamos serán repagados. En ese momento re-evaluamos nuestra estrategia de inversiones para determinar si expanderemos o retiramos nuestra cartera. - Con orgullo somos parte del Grupo de Inversiones en Kiva del blog del Pondering Pig (Vea tinyurl.com/2fhzqj ) - Visita tambien nuestro Blog KivaRamon -- kivaramon.blogspot.com - Vea tambien un mapa de todos nuestros préstamos en Google "My Map" -- tinyurl.com/2z2f2q - Por favor visita KivaFriends, nuestra comunidad de prestatadores de Kiva -- www.kivafriends.org - La Familia Kolb, somos: Verónica, Alexandra, Lucas, y Ramón. |
| About me: | We are a middle-class Peruvian-Dutch family that lives near Boston, MA. Somos una familia Peruana-Holandesa que vive cerca a Boston, MA (EE.UU.). For professional references, see my resume at www.linkedin.com/in/ramon. Please follow @ramonk at Twitter. |
| Check out: | kivaramon.blogspot.com |
| Member Since: | Nov 24, 2006 |
217-240 of
253 loans
The Kolb Family Fund's Teams
Portfolio Distribution
| Gender | |
| female | 81.0% |
| male | 19.0% |
| Country | |
| Peru | 33.2% |
| Bolivia | 11.1% |
| Honduras | 10.3% |
| Paraguay | 9.1% |
| Dominican Republic | 9.1% |
| Nicaragua | 7.1% |
| Guatemala | 5.1% |
| Ecuador | 4.7% |
| Mexico | 4.3% |
| El Salvador | 3.6% |
| Haiti | 1.2% |
| Costa Rica | 0.8% |
| United States | 0.4% |
| Sector | |
| Retail | 41.1% |
| Food | 17.8% |
| Clothing | 15.4% |
| Services | 9.1% |
| Agriculture | 7.1% |
| Arts | 3.6% |
| Transportation | 1.6% |
| Housing | 1.6% |
| Manufacturing | 1.6% |
| Wholesale | 0.4% |
| Health | 0.4% |
| Construction | 0.4% |
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