It's a decidedly scorching afternoon in the small pastoral community of Puerto Momotombo, located approximately an hour outside of Leon, Nicaragua's university capital.

In Australia (where I'm from), we start learning about money early. From lessons about compound interest in mathematics to budgeting for a meal in home economics, financial "know-how" is considered a survival skill.

Safoura is a 46-year-old woman who lives in Dieli, a small village in rural Mali. After losing her husband 12 years ago, she became a single mother of 7 children. She knows life can be challenging. 

Terry needed a printer, a website, more sergers and sewing machines, and cutting mats for her MKE Fashion Incubator.

Imagine you’re a Malian farmer. Once a year you plant your corn, your sorghum, your peanuts, your millet. You pray for solid rainfall and a large enough harvest to feed your family for the year.

The office of RMCR, the Kiva Partner in Mali where I’m serving as a fellow, is about 2 km away from my home. I’ve made it a habit to walk these 2 km.

According to a World Bank press release published in 2014, the Solomon Islands has one of the lowest rates of electricity access in the

Shell money is a traditional form of currency that was used in the Solomon Islands before bank notes were introduced.

When I use the word “microfinance,” or talk about Kiva, people tend to picture entrepreneurs in far off destinations, using small loans to invest in their businesses.  And while it may be true that cash lent for seeds, goats or rickshaw repairs in less developed countries is the essence of micr