Startup Spark

A Quick Microloan Kiva Update and Special Book Offer from Greg Balanko-Dickson

by Ben Yoskovitz on January 9th, 2007

Last week I loaned a small amount of money through Kiva.org to Kossi Joseph KOTSI so he could purchase more equipment and supplies for his workshop, and help his wife start up a hairdressing salon. Kossi lives in Toga, Africa. This type of loan is called a microloan or microcredit.

Yesterday I received an email from Kiva that the loan had been disbursed to Kossi.

28 people donated a total of $1,500 to Kossi, and I wish him nothing but the best in achieving his goals and dreams. That’s only $54 on average per person - an easy amount for most of us to give away…and remember, it’s a loan; more than likely we’ll get repaid.

My original post about the loan got Greg Balanko-Dickson thinking…and acting.

He’s recently published a new book Tips & Traps When Writing An Effective Business Plan and he’s agreed to loan $3 of every book sale to an entrepreneur at Kiva.org.

Buy his book and send him a receipt by fax (1-866-281-8281) - that’s all you have to do!

It’s great to see people like Greg step up and participate in something like this. It’s so easy to do, and there’s no harm in tying it into an existing business or promotional effort you’ve got going on. All the better if you ask me! That’s what being an entrepreneur is about — seeing opportunities, developing them creatively and in turn benefiting yourself and others.

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POSTED IN: Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship