More than £1m worth of recyclable and returnable loans have been distributed through Care International’s microlending site.

Lendwithcare.org, which was soft-launched by Care and the Co-operative in late 2010, works along the same principles as microlending sites such as Kiva. It enables donors to lend an amount of at least £15 to one of a number of entrepreneurs from the developing world featured on the Lendwithcare.org site. Once repaid, the donor has the opportunity to either lend their initial donation again or keep it.

More than 26,000 such loans have now been funded, with the one millionth loan going to a Filipino father with a convenience store and funded by Heatha Kitchin from North Yorkshire. Kitchen has loaned to some 23 entrepreneurs, but the average number of projects loaned to by a Lendwithcare.org donor is six.

Thus far, 5,573 individuals have made loans with Lendwithcare.org with an average value of £36.42 per loan.

Tracey Horner, head of Lendwithcare.org, said that having the money returned to the donor made a strong proposition in difficult economic times. “The fact that lenders can recycle their money to another entrepreneur makes this recession-proof giving,” she said. 

Picture: Marcelline Dohami, grocery business owner in Benin.