Microcredit

The idea behind microcredit is to provide small loans to impoverished people in developing countries to help them raise themselves out of poverty. The recipient uses these loans to start or grow small businesses.

Why The Microcredit Service Exists

iPlayiGive provides the microcredit service as an alternative to more traditional charitable giving for the following reasons:

• Your contribution goes further and has more impact because it is loaned out repeatedly
• It's easier to track and measure results
• It helps people lift themselves out of poverty
• It is proven to work. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their microcredit work.

How Microcredit Works

Microcredit works by providing impoverished people in developing countries small, short-term loans for starting or growing small businesses. These loans, often as small as $50, have a huge impact because the cost of living is very low in developing countries. $50 in the U.S. or other developed countries won't go very far, but in countries where people live on less than $1 or $2 a day the amount is life changing.

Loans are generally given to a group of individuals that live in close proximity to each other. Recipients guarantee each other's loans and hold each other accountable for repaying loans. They meet on a weekly basis to discuss business issues and to make payments towards their loans. Individuals that successfully repay their loans become eligible for larger future loans to continue growing their business.

What You Do

Select the geographic region where you would like your money sent.

$25

What We Do

We partner with microcredit institutions and deliver your contribution to the geographic region of your choice. Once the loan is repaid we repeat the process for as long as possible. Based on repayment rates, your contribution is likely to be loaned out about 20 times over a ten year period. In addition we measure the social impact of your contribution by tracking the number of jobs and businesses created over time.

More Information

Please see the following books for more information on microcredit:

• A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and The Business Solution for Ending Poverty by Philip Smith and Eric Thurman
• Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus