What is the thinking on micro finance and organizations like Kiva who direct funding towards them?

Kiva is in part is on my radar because of a Oprah/Groupon deal they having going on.

No opinion here, but CBC RadioOne had an interview this morning with the CEO of one of those "micro loan-sharks", and I was unable to come to any kind of conclusion from it.

There were tales of 60-90% "interest rates", heavy handed debt collectors, and millions of people using the system to better their lives.

Cheers

Mark, it sound like you did come to a conclusion.

No, I don't think so. A problem with the CBC is that they (are required to?) go out of their way to present a balanced report. Which means that they'll find the one crackpot who contradicts 99% of knowledgeable experts, and present both views evenly.

So based on that one radio interview, I don't know what the story is.

Cheers

Ah!
I didn't realize the CBC had such a requirement, interesting.

I don't think it is a requirement, but rather just something that their reporters are pressured to try and do.

I started off thinking it was great but there's a lot of negative press too, i.e. huge interest rates, credit collection methods etc. It's kind of a grey area for me now, so I haven't issued any new Kiva loans for over a year