Technically, we made a microfinance loan to a woman in Senegal who farms goats. But, yes: we sponsored goats. That's Fatou in the middle with one of her goats. Unfortunately, we do not know the name of that goat.
Kiva loans
From the start we decided we want to use the proceeds to make the world a better place. Kiva loans are a great way to do this, in a financial sustainable way.
They are pretty simple. You loan $25 to someone who uses it to either grow their business or improve their lives. Even though $25 goes further in some countries, it's still not much (which means very affordable for us), so several people's donations are grouped together. Ninety-eight people contributed to Fatou's loan.
In 13 months, Fatou will pay back her loan. Well, she should. There's a local organisation in Senegal, as with all the countries where people can get Kiva loans. These organisations manage the loans and support participants, like Fatou to help her grow her business and repay the loan.
Then, when the loan is repaid, we get the $25 back to to loan to someone else. And the process repeats.
The Goats and Friends pledge
Our pledge to use Kiva loans to help make the world a better place means for every 25 transactions, we'll make another loan. and over the years, we hope there'll be a lot of successful goat-related businesses around the world because you bought a plush animal or greeting card.
Want to follow Fatou and her goats? Here's her Kiva loan page. You can follow our loans too.