Last year, the microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, bringing attention worldwide to the new and growing field of microfinance. It also piqued my interest. So, just before Christmas, I loaned about $150 to six businesses around the world through the site Kiva.org.

One loan was to a man named Alex Komlan N’SOUGAN who is a welder. He needed a loan of $850 to buy a compressor, corrugated iron and bars, and other tools so that he could build his business and better provide for his family. So myself and 14 other people from around the world pooled our resources and got him the money. And he is well on his way to paying back the 12 month loan (as of this morning, he had repaid 66.7%).

It’s an interesting system for connecting people who want to make a difference directly with small business people in other countries (or it’s almost a direct connection- I have an account with Kiva, who loans the money to their local finance partner (in Alex’s case Microfund Togo) who then loans the money to Alex, along with giving him access to business training and other support services).

If you’re interested in making a small loan to someone in a far away place, who is trying to make their way in the world by starting and running a business, then it might be worth browsing the hundreds of businesses on kiva.org who are looking for support.