When it comes to global poverty, everyone is self-interested: rich people want to help poor people (or at least feel like they are), poor people want to stop being poor, and politicians want to appear munificent by spending everybody else’s money.
On the subject of global poverty, BBC News informs us today that:
Ebay, the world’s largest online auctioneer, has launched a website that allows people to invest in loans that lift people out of poverty.
The website, called MicroPlace, acts as a broker between ordinary investors and microfinance organisations.
For as little as $100, US investors will be able to help entrepreneurs in poor countries, be they coffee sellers in Cambodia or hairdressers in Ghana.
The investments last between two and four years and offer a small return.
The MicroPlace website contains this little gem: “Microfinance has emerged as an effective poverty alleviation tool because it is based on the fundamental principle that human beings are motivated to do whatever it takes to make themselves as well off as possible.”
Kudos to the folks at Microplace! They accept the fact that sustainable solutions to societal ills require us to harness human nature (i.e., self-interest), not work against it.
I’m about to invest $100 in Tanzania – I’ll let you know how it goes.
