"he individual Kiva lenders earn no interest;" That's why I never bothered with Kiva. You want my money but you're not going to give me even a small cut? No thank you.
I am now out of touch with Kiva (though I still make loans) but I have been to many of their events, met some of the employees, met some terrific lenders who are genuinely passionate about helping people. I am disappointed how Kiva has turned out these days, but they were doing good work. Their lender community is insanely passionate. There are lenders who are worth 8/9 figures and then there are people who can only spare 50$ a month and everyone in between. If you don't trust me, just go read their teams messages.
So yeah, if you are looking to make a quick profit, Kiva (and Kiva like orgs) is not for you
For sustainability it needs to have a return for the investor.
It seems odd that I would “loan” my money and not get a return. I donate to charities. That seems more efficient.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to just build in a return to investors to attract more people willing to learn. Kiva is making money. The CEO is making money, it seems odd not to pay people who lend money.
As it is now, I’d rather donate and get a tax deduction and be done with it and have the firm lend out my donation over and over.