We often see advertisements telling of the sadness and lack in third-world countries, and asking for our help.

Right or wrong, I have never been inclined to support those causes as, to me, it feels that my energy is going in the direction of focusing on the lack, rather than the abundance.

Being part of the solution…

So how do I support instead?

I fund entrepreneurs in these areas – people who only need a little to be able to set up, or expand their local business – and this is not a hand-out, this is a loan that supports more than the recipient.

The micro-financing loan is administered and managed by a field partner in the same area as the entrepreneur. 100% of my investment goes to the entrepreneur, and the field partner charges an interest rate that allows them (the field partner) to continue to grow and support even more entrepreneurs.

The loan is then paid back over an extended period of time, allowing the recipient to grow their business to generate the additional income to service the loan.

Since Kiva (the non-profit based in America that administers the program) started in 2005, the average number of loans that have been repaid in full is 96.9%.

So, who are these entrepreneurs?

Along with other investors, these are the people I am personally funding – along with their stories…

Please meet Frankston.

Frankson’s story

Frankson is 42 years old, married, and blessed with three children. His business is selling timber and operating a car wash, which he has done for four years.This is his second loan and he will use it to buy timber to sell and a water tank for his car wash business. He will use profits from the expanded business to educate his children.His hopes and dreams are to open another timber yard and also build a permanent house for his family.

Frankston is from Kitengela;Nairobi, Kenya

Please meet Sarah.

Sarah’s story

Sarah is 46 years old. She is married with 3 children, ranging in age 18 through 21 years. They live at home while attending school.Sarah is a high school graduate. She deals in a business where she sells charcoal. A business she has operating for 6 years. Sarah describes herself as hardworking business woman.

She started this business with financial help from her brother and her mother taught her how to sell.

She transports supplies to her business site by car. Sarah sells from 7:00 am until 5:00 pm, making sure that her business goes well.

To add up her business, Sarah requires for a loan through BRAC Liberia and KIVA Field Partner. The loan will be used to purchase more charcoal to sell.

She likes her business because it helps to support her family. Sarah would like to build a house for her children within the future.

Sarah is from New Kru, Liberia

Please meet Nancy.

Nancy’s story

Her curiosity and natural abilities have made Nancy a successful farmer. She works hard to meet the demands of her small family, (husband and children) as well as her farm requirements. Nancy has been working on her farm for 12 years. Through farming, Nancy is able to meet the basic needs of her family. She also owns a small shop.The biggest problem that farmers from her village face is the huge deficit in access to agricultural inputs, meaning those farmers’ yields and incomes are far below what they could be. Juhudi Kilimo partnered with Kiva to provide financial services to smallholders around Kenya. Through these financial services, farmers from Kitale like Nancy now can buy productive assets and important agricultural inputs for use on their farms.

Nancy is seeking a loan to buy farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides. Your loan will enable her to improve her production through the use of quality farm inputs. This intervention will help her fill the increasing demand for food in the market and, in the process, generate more income to repay the loan debt and improve the quality of life for her family. To others it might just be a mere loan, but to Nancy it’s the biggest opportunity she will have this season of changing her life. Kindly lend to her today.

Nancy is from Kenyenya, Kenya

Please meet Justine.

Justine’s story

Justine is 30 years old and lives in the town of Kajjasi in the Abaita Ababiri region of Uganda. For the past six years, Justine has been working hard to manage her retail shop, which sells essential items like sugar, salt, and other home use items.To help expand her business, Justine has requested a loan of 3,000,000 Ugandan Shillings from BRAC Uganda. The loan will be used to buy sugar, maize, flour, beans, biscuits, milk and cooking oil to attract customers, and will help Justine to generate greater profits and pay her mother’s medical bills and buy new clothes for herself.

Justine hopes that in the future she will be able to open up a new branch of a retail shop.

Justine is a member of BRAC’s Small Enterprise Program (SEP). The program primarily serves small entrepreneurs like Justine who do not have enough collateral for commercial loans, but have businesses that have grown too large for microloans.

Justine is from Kajjansi, Uganda

Please meet Rosalinda.

Rosalinda’s story

Rosalinda is 42 years old and a housewife that lives with her family in the municipality of Barranquilla. She wanted to generate her own income and to support her spouse by selling products to her neighbours and friends.She has started her sales of products three years ago and she today offers a broad variety of products: cold meats, footwear, clothing and other requests from her customers. Rosalinda is looking for financial support so she can accept more orders from her customers, currently she is often in the position that she is unable to make the necessary purchases.

The loan she is asking for will be used to buy cold meats such as ham, local types of sausages and other requests made by her customers.

Rosalinda is from Barranquilla, Colombia

How can you support?

Everyone has different things that touch their heart. For me, it is people who are stepping up and creating something that helps others as well as themselves.

No matter your passion, you can probably find someone who fits that place in your heart. Here is a list of the categories of people seeking a micro-loan (and bearing in mind, your loan can be as little as $25):

The Faces of Third-World Entrepreneurs