I just made a small loan to Monica Wanja Mwangi from Kenya through Kiva. I’ve had Kiva in my Internet favorites list for a long time, but I kept putting off signing up. Today I heard a story about them on the radio, so I finally got around to making a loan. Here is what Kiva says about Monica Wanja Mwangi:

Monica Wanja Mwangi is 47 years old and married with five children, all of whom are in school. She supports herself and her family by selling tomatoes from a stall in the main market of the town where she lives. Her customers come from all over to buy her produce because her prices are low and she maintains high standards of cleanliness. Monica would like to expand her business by building a shop where she could store a large number of tomatoes and keep them fresh and safe. To do this, she is requesting a loan of $1,000. She will use half of it to purchase a variety of tomatoes, $300 to build her store, $100 for transport, and $100 for a municipal license. We are very confident that Monica will repay the loan because she is hard-working and a good businesswoman.

By the way, I didn’t loan her the whole $1,000 – only $25. That’s the most Kiva is letting anyone loan right now because they’re getting so many hits to their website.

Tags: Kiva