I spoke with an ex-amazon person today who is now working at a non-profit called Unitus — Unitus acts as a sort of venture capital firm that invests in microfinance institutions in third world countries. All I can say is that it is incredibly inspiring to think about the impact organizations like this have on the world.
Some scary statistics:
– 6 Billion people on our lovely planet
– 3 Billion (yes, half) live on less than $2 per day (yes, $2… less than the cost of a latte)
– 1.3 Billion have no access to clean water
– 3 Billion have no access to sanitation
– 2 Billion have no access to electricity
– Literacy Rate – 97% in US, 30% in Poor countries
– The USA gives a smaller % of our GDP than any other developed country
What microfinance is, in a nutshell, is lending of small amounts of money (less than $300) to individuals to allow them to invest the money to improve their quality of life. The repayment rates on these loans averages >95%, which is nothing short of amazing.
It was an inspiring conversation.
If you want to learn more, please visit Unitus, or email me.