By Rob Packer, Conference Attendee

When most people first hear about microfinance, it is often about borrowers living in rural areas of the developing world with little access to other sources of credit. While it seems obvious that the poorest—the people microfinance is supposed to help in the popular imagination—of a developing country, such as Mexico or India, must be significantly poorer than someone living in poverty in the USA, the developed world does not have a monopoly on wealth, just like the developing world does not have a monopoly on poverty (e.g. the world’s richest man according to Forbes is Mexican). However, when you remove the developing-country concept, it seems that microfinance becomes problematic for some.

Kiva began partnering with US microfinance institutions in June 2009 and while we are extremely excited by the possibilities of expansion into Kiva’s home nation, we understand that the concept of US-based microfinance lending can be controversial. When Kiva first entered the US market, there were a number of lenders on the site upset by the decision: to some it appeared sure to attract funds away from the developing world and to be a betrayal of Kiva’s commitment to the developing world. One year on, I do not believe we have seen any discernable slow-down in lending to non-US borrowers and increase to borrowers in the US; nor has Kiva seen a reduction in its developing country exposure: both continue to grow.

I have recently started at Kiva as the Portfolio Manager for the Americas, a role which covers “traditional” microfinance markets such as Nicaragua or Peru but also includes the United States. However, like the average Joe who knows about microfinance in the developing-world context, but less so in terms of the US, my previous experience of microfinance has been in Kyrgyzstan and Colombia, two developing countries where I was placed with MFIs as part of Kiva’s Fellows Program. My experience in these two countries, and the experiences of my peers in other countries around the world have taught me that while microfinance between no two MFIs is identical, the challenges faced within the same country may be similar. I’m looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of the realities of microfinance in the US and seeing the differences (and similarities) between how it works between the US and various other countries of the region.

Rob Packer is Portfolio Manager for the Americas at Kiva, working worldwide to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. He has recently completed a Fellowship with Kiva which saw him based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Barranquilla, Colombia.