Friday, October 13, 2006

Let's get serious (for a moment)

I was pleased to see that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yumas and the Grameen Bank -- I had feared that the appalling Bono might receive it for services to Apple (okay, the Red campaign). BBC World had the usual slightly downbeat approach to the announcement, asking how much it cost to service these micro-debts and when they'd be paid back. As someone who sponsors a child in El Salvador, I was wondering if anyone combines that "personalized" sponsorship with microcredit? I can't imagine I'd be the only Guardian-reading liberal who'd be more than happy to provide funding/long-term "loans" to a microcredit bank, in return for information about one of the projects thus funded. I mean, I'm happy to be supporting little Walter-Hernan -- Real Madrid supporter and David Beckham fan (now that's brand reach!) -- but I'd be equally happy to be providing a generator and a mobile phone to a women's textile cooperative in Bangladesh.

Readers, do you know of any such projects? If not, how would one go about setting one up? Or is this not how microcredit works?

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