Wokai is holding a networking even on March 9th in Seattle. Here’s the email that everyone on the Seattle Wokai email list received this evening with further details:

Looking for something fun in the middle of the week? Enjoy Art, Good Drinks, and Interesting people? Come and join Wokai volunteers and supporters alike at Vermillion – an art gallery wine bar – for “Drinks for a Better World.” on March 9th.

This event will bring together people who share an interest in microfinance, social enterprise, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, and related topics. This will be a fun and informal opportunity to meet new… friends, network with socially conscious people, and share ideas. How can you say no to fun, drinks, and art all in the name of being a responsible global citizen?

Cost $15 per person. Includes drink ticket ($5 – House Beer/House Wine) and a $10 credit to a Wokai borrower of your choice.

To register for the event, please visit www.wokai.org/events, and select “March 9 Seattle: Drinks for a Better World”. Since $10 will be credited to your Wokai account, we strongly encourage you to pre-register online.

Wokai will provide complimentary Chinese pastries as well as some amazing drink specials!

When: March 9th, 5pm-8pm
Where: Vermillion, 1508 11th Ave, Seattle WA 98122

Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138395439560246

We look forward to seeing many of you there!

Jessie Zhou
President, Wokai Seattle Chapter

I got the following email the other day from Kiva.org:

Dear Drew Meyers,

This email confirms that your loan to Koami Dodji Dogba on www.kiva.org
has defaulted.

$20.13 of your loan has been repaid. If possible, further information
about this loan will be posted as an update on the entrepreneur profile
page. http://www.kiva.org/lend/104280?_te=de

We hope that you realize that this default is a true exception to the
norm and that you will give lending to the working poor another chance
on our site.

If you have any questions, you can find our Frequently Asked questions
and our contact info at the Kiva Help Center:
http://www.kiva.org/help?_te=de .

Best Wishes, Kiva Staff

I’ve been donating to Kiva since 2007. The fact that it took 4 years to have a loan default on me? Pretty damn impressive to the success and viability of microfinance.

Vittana is looking for skilled, highly committed and passionate volunteers to work on-the-ground with our microfinance institution (MFI) partners abroad. Fellow will be tasked with helping evaluate, support and create student lending programs at our MFI partners.

FELLOW CANDIDATES SHOULD HAVE:

• A willingness to commit a minimum of 12 weeks in-country (strong preference given to applicants able to commit to 4 months or more).
• Some international work, travel or life experience
• Strong critical thinking, problem-solving skills
• Independence and the ability to identify and address a need with little direction.
• Ability to recognize an problem/opportunity and work towards fixing it/taking advantage of it.
• Flexibility, ability to easily adapt to ever-changing circumstances
• Impeccable communication skills in a professional environment
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite and web tools (Gmail, Skype, WordPress, etc.)
• At least 21 years of age

HOW TO APPLY:
1. Prepare a list of three references, your resume and a cover letter telling us why you are drawn to this experience and what you’ll bring to it.
2. Submit your three documents to us via the Fellows Application Form
2.5 If you have any additional questions, you can contact the Fellows Coordinator Lindsey Maxfield at questions@vittana.org

Source: SeaMO

Nothing like $4.5 million in funding to give the Latin American microfinance industry a boost. From Global Partnerships:

$4.5 Million for Excellence in Microfinance
Global Partnerships’ Social Investment Fund 2010 makes first loans to six partners

Seattle, Wash., – Global Partnerships (GP), a 16-year-old nonprofit that supports microfinance and other sustainable solutions to poverty, announced today that it has invested $4.5 million of its new $20 million social investment fund in six outstanding microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America. Three of the partners are new to GP.

“We are delighted that our investors’ capital is being put to work in organizations so committed to serving people living in poverty,” said Mark Coffey, Global Partnerships’ chief investment officer. “Amid recent negative news about commercial microfinance in Asia, the exemplary work of these mission-focused microfinance organizations is worth highlighting.”

The Global Partnerships fund, Social Investment Fund 2010 (SIF 2010) is a five-year debt fund that provides affordable loans to a select portfolio of MFIs that have met GP’s rigorous financial and social criteria. The MFIs being funded range in size and business model, but are similar in their focus on reaching people in underserved markets in Latin America and combining loans with “microfinance-plus” services such as business education, health services and agricultural training.

For example, COMIXMUL (Mixed Cooperative of United Women) is a cooperative in Honduras that serves more than 11,000 women with microcredit and services including financial education, training on specific trade skills like baking and access to preventive health education. COMIXMUL was started in 1986 by a group of 12 women market vendors who could not access capital from traditional banks.

Crediflorida is a cooperative in central Peru that provides rural, small-scale coffee farmers with credit at interest rates significantly lower than commercial alternatives. It also offers clients training in growing and diversifying crops and access to higher-profit specialty markets.

Other microfinance organizations that have received loans from SIF 2010 as of December 31, 2010, include D-MIRO in Ecuador, FONDECO in Bolivia (another new partner), FONDESURCO in Peru, and FRAC in Mexico (GP’s second loan to Mexico). Together, these MFIs serve 94,000 borrowers, 72 percent of whom live in rural areas and 63 percent of whom are women. GP is on track to disburse all of the fund’s capital by the end of 2011.

About Global Partnerships: Global Partnerships (GP) is a Seattle- and Managua-based nonprofit that expands opportunity for people living in poverty. As of December 31, 2010, GP had $37.9 million in capital invested in 27 microfinance partners, which serve 874,000 borrowers. Find out more at www.globalpartnerships.org

This article on Kiva News made me smile – Team Australia (all 2,900 of them) just went over $1 million in loans to entrepreneurs around the globe on Kiva.

Makes me feel bad team myKRO.org is so far behind