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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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eBay Launches Microfinance Loan Site

Users can lend money to the world's poor... and earn interest

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(Newser) – EBay's newly launched MicroPlace lets users make loans through PayPal or a bank account to needy entrepreneurs worldwide. The idea? Even small sums can help poor people build businesses to raise themselves out of poverty. The site's founder remembers one Bangladeshi woman who bought a handloom, thus earning enough to repay the loan and school her children, reports Fortune.

MicroPlace differs from other nonprofit microfinance sites, notably Kiva.org, in that lenders earn interest--1 to 4%. This makes some uneasy. “Maybe it’s better if the extra $15 you make on a return stays with the institution,” suggests one microfinance author. But MicroPlace says the interest is meant to attract more lenders--and help more poor.

MicroPlace, the new venture from eBay brings
MicroPlace, the new venture from eBay brings "microfinancing" to the masses.   (Screen Capture)
eBay enters microfinance
eBay enters microfinance   (Associated Press)
Microfinance aims to help the world's poor become entrepreneurs
Microfinance aims to help the world's poor become entrepreneurs   (Associated Press)
Mints are shown at the eBay Shop at the eBay Community building in San Jose, Tuesday, July 17, 2007. EBay Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Mints are shown at the eBay Shop at the eBay Community building in San Jose, Tuesday, July 17, 2007. EBay Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)   (Associated Press)
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus speaks during a business forum in Athens on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007. Yunus Bangladeshi economist and the Grameen Bank he founded won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their pioneering use of tiny, seemingly insignificant loans microcredit to lift millions out of poverty....
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus speaks during a business forum in Athens on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007. Yunus Bangladeshi economist and the Grameen Bank he founded won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006...   (Associated Press)
EBay CEO Meg Whitman smiles as she speaks the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
EBay CEO Meg Whitman smiles as she speaks the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)
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