Kiva.org has a record week of loans and expands into Samoa!

Last week Kiva.org had a record week, receiving over $23,000 in loan funds! That's FIFTY loans that were raised last week and every last cent that you sent us will be sent to your chosen loan receipient. This is our biggest week yet and we are so excited for the massive support our lenders have shown our entrepreneurs by helping them get the loan they need.

We also received a lot of emails last week from people who read the BusinessWeek article about Kiva or saw the ABC News Now story and forwarded it to their friends and family and we'd like to thank everyone who helped us by spreading the word - we think the results of your efforts are obvious in last week's record funding.

In even more exciting news, Kiva.org is today announcing a new partner, South Pacific Business Development in SAMOA! We are incredibly proud to be partnering with this great organization and expanding into Oceania. SPBD's lending system uses the Grameen model and: "provides small, unsecured loans to groups of rural women. Women invest their loans into businesses based on their existing livelihood skills. SPBD's philosophy of lending is based on a respect for each individual's innate human ingenuity, drive and self esteem. It is these qualities which make people credit worthy, not the collateral which traditional banks demand." We know you'll love SPBD and the businesses we've just posted live so check them out before they're all funded.