Inside Bay Area - Kiva does well, with help from friends

Inside Bay Area - Kiva does well, with help from friends: "Kiva does well, with help from friends
By Constance Loizos, MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Last Updated: 03/26/2007 05:20:32 AM PDT

IF YOU HAVEN'T yet heard of Kiva.org, a San Francisco nonprofitthat at just 18 months old is already the leading online microcredit site, you're about to. Its friends in Silicon Valley will make sure of that.

Here's how Kiva — which means 'unity' in Swahili — works: Lenders visit Kiva's Web site to find entrepreneurs from developing countries looking for a small loan. Kiva posts the entrepreneurs' funding needs and pictures online with the help of 38 local microfinance institutions around the world."