Back in December, we expressed concerns about LAPO, one of Kiva‘s largest microfinance partners. Last month, the New York Times ran an article implying criticism of LAPO. Now, Kiva has suspended its partnership with LAPO. A couple of questions this … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
Category Archives: Kiva
Normally, we focus on identifying outstanding charities, and minimize the time spent on opaque or otherwise lackluster ones. But lately, we’ve gone into a bit more detail about our take on several of the best-known and most appealing charities out … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
We’ve thought and written a lot about microfinance lately. As of now, here’s where we stand. What microfinance is and isn’t First, it’s important to recognize that most of what you’ve heard about microfinance is false. It isn’t primarily about … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
We recently looked at Kiva’s largest partner MFI, LAPO (Lift Above Poverty Organization), as part of our evaluation process for an economic empowerment grant in sub-Saharan Africa. In brief, we found two surprising pieces of information: LAPO is very profitable. … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
David Roodman raises the concern that Kiva capital could be effectively “padding profits” at a profitable microfinance institution. He concludes, If social investors provide capital at prices below commercial rates to enterprises with “double bottom lines” (profit and social benefit), … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
Nathaniel Whittemore writes that it’s “time to move on” regarding the recent Kiva controversy. I disagree. It’s true that Kiva handled the criticism admirably, and made significant changes to its website to improve clarity for donors. It’s also true that … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
