Web Lender Offers Microloans To U.S. Startups : NPR

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Web Lender Offers Microloans To U.S. Startups

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October 13, 2009

A Web site known for helping entrepreneurs in developing countries has turned its sights on the United States.

Since 2005, Kiva.org has helped Internet users give microloans, or small loans of $25 or more, to business owners in nearly 50 impoverished countries. Now it's offering similar loans to struggling U.S. entrepreneurs.

Tannis Lee Harrison has owned a housekeeping business for three years, but she never thought she'd be a cleaner. The 47-year-old was desperate when her husband's notary work dried up.

She says she and her family were going to lose their house in East Palo Alto, Calif. So, she asked a friend for help finding odd jobs.

Once she found her niche in cleaning, Harrison says, the work poured in. She soon needed to hire an employee, buy heavy-duty vacuums and find extra storage.

She couldn't get a loan or a credit card, though. She'd emigrated from Canada and didn't have a credit history in the U.S. yet.

"I did try to get credit through places like Walmart," ...

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