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By Justin G. Moore
A little over one year ago I started looking for new ways to diversify my investments. As the declining economy led to interest rate cuts on my regular savings and money market accounts, I wanted to find if there were other places to invest my money aside from regular bank accounts or bonds with limited returns.

Inspired by the idea of helping other people while helping myself with a return on my investments, I looked into whether or not microlending was something I could do and found MicroPlace.com. In total I have invested over $2,500 in various funds averaging a return of about 3%; that is more than my bank currently offers for a money market account at 1.5%.

In April CBS Evening News did a story on the microlending trend gaining traction, with the help of services like MicroPlace, here in the United States. In their investigation, they were able to track money I invested to one of the funds’ recipients in a village near Lima, Peru, where a woman named Paulina used a microloan to help operate her business making artisanal ceramic pieces. The help financing her business allowed her to employ others and send her son to college – all with what many middle-income Americans would consider a small sum. According to MicroPlace, the money I have invested has helped at least four people like Paulina run their businesses and improve the lives of their families and communities. It is wonderful to know that my small recurring investments of twenty or fifty dollars here and there can have such a big impact. As microfinance continues to gain traction as a viable method of empowering people and supporting both financial and social responsibility, communities all over the world and hopefully here in the United States will be able to benefit from even the smallest of investments.

Watch MicroPlace featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric!

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