Originally Posted by
Thunderroad
Even though I've raised questions myself, I wouldn't necessarily jump to these conclusions. The issue really reaches beyond Kiva to microfinance more generally, but it is very possible that under some circumstances people really do get a chance to move ahead in life even though they pay interest rates that we would consider too high in a domestic context. And there are many other factors at play that make this a complicated issue and that mean that what Kiva does could well be very worthwhile.
I don't doubt that the borrowers find this very useful. I'm not anti-lending nor anti-interest. But I don't see why
I should lend my money interest free so that someone else can turn around and lend it subject to interest. If I'm lending money to someone interest free, it's because I want that person to have money interest free. It's a charity service.
I now see Kiva is not a charity service. In fact, I now wonder if it actually
limits the amount of capital poured into microfinance. Since the borrowers are willing to pay interest, imagine how many more people would be willing to invest in microfinance if the lenders made a modest return.