Home » Business » china development bank » credit fund » Entrepreneurs » european investment » gwec » international finance corporation » Investing » microfinance » Personal Finance » renewable development agency » social lending » New Trend In Finance With Credit Friend

New Trend In Finance With Credit Friend

The most recent financial crisis, caused by low-quality sub-prime loans, has left people with no income, no jobs and no assets. Microfinance founder and founding member of Ashoka’s Global Academy Muhammad Yunus has strongly protested against the way microfinance has evolved—many microfinance institutions have become the same money sharks that Yunus initially sought to put out of business. People are tired of paying high interest rates for credit cards, banks and payday loans. They’re tired of being classified with credit scores that do not necessarily represent their real credit capacity. Enter Puddle Puddle gives everyday people the opportunity to own a small virtual “bank” with their friends—no fees and no applications. Users decide on interest rates, who can be members, and who can borrow money. The best part: profits made from the interest rates paid by borrowers are distributed among group members. Puddle is a response from three of social entrepreneurs that have challenged traditional microfinance and suspect lending practices for more than a decade: Ashoka Fellows Solomon Raydán, Jean Claude Rodriguez-Ferrera and Matt Flannery (Kiva co-founder and CEO). Raydán, Rodriguez-Ferrera and Flannery are supporting the “self-financed movement,” inspired by ancient lending practices generically known as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAS). Community groups around the world, though very poor, have proven their capacity to organize and sustain their own savings and credit system without having to go through the formal banking system. Puddle is bringing simplicity, convenience and transparency to a financial model that needs to be changed. It is not intended to replace formal banking. Puddle launched late last year and is expanding rapidly. In Europe, much of the move offshore has been backed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EDRD). The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has a billion dollars invested in the wind sector, Sawyer said. And the InterAmerican Development Bank has invested heavily in Central and South America, he added, especially in some of the smaller markets like Uruguay, Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama. “South Africa should be a big market,” Sawyer said. “It is a growing economy. They need the power. They need the jobs. And they want the investments.” The initial auction rounds account for about 3.5 gigawatts, and “if the industry starts to move, they will end up with a lot more than 10 gigawatts because they really need the power and they are actively encouraging investment from any and all quarters.”

di 4:28 AM
 
Copyright Login MI All Rights Reserved