Kiva.org - P2P microfinance

The blogosphere is a-buzz about Kiva – the world’s first peer-to-peer, distributed microloan website. The site allows you to lend a small amount of money, say $25, to needy microenterprises in developing countries (for now just Uganda). You receive repayment at the end of the loan period (normally 6-12 months) without interest. If they default on the loan, your loan becomes a donation – though none of the businesses have defaulted yet.

For more see: NextBillion, WorldChanging, BoingBoing, DailyKos, TheSharpener, TimbuktuChronicles or Our Word is Our Weapon.

Update 1: Congrats to all. All of the attention generated (mostly by blogs!) means that Kiva has currently run out-of-businesses to sponsor – at least for now. (Via Alex Tabarrok)

Update 2: SocialEdge has launched The Kiva Chronicles, written by Kiva's founders.

Update 3: Y ahora también en español, ver 1 y 2.