| Website | 51give.com |
| Blog | blog.51give.com |
| Category | Consumer Web |
| Employees | |
| Founded | 9/07 |
| Description | P2P microfinance lending facilitator |
| Series A, 6/08 |
Supporting those in need is a challenge. It is hard to trust the man on the street begging for money, but it is equally hard to trust the man in a fancy suit promising your money will go to a greater cause than his dinner. It is this obstacle that inspired 51give. 51Give was created with the intention of making it possible to help individuals and make sure the lender feels confident they know what and who their money is being used for.
51give is dedicated to lending money to Chinese social entrepreneurs as well as to rural and urban families to power their lives with renewable technologies. This financial process is referred to as “Sustainable Microfinanceâ€. 51Give is currently running programs in half a dozen Chinese provinces (coastal, rural and urban areas) and is amongst the first to bring sustainable microfinance to China and to provide brand new solutions to the country’s poverty and sustainable development issues.
51Give stands out, because the loans not only alleviate poverty, but improve the environment, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance access to renewable energy in China. Borrowers have used loans to acquire equipment for sustainable businesses such as biogas power, home solar systems, and micro wind power.
51Give is not a charity; it is a social entrepreneurship business that operates on a philosophy of sustainability. By definition, a social enterprise’s activities should be socially good and offer a return on investment. The notion can be taken further by operating a triple bottom-line that stipulates the enterprise’s activities should be good for, or at least not harmful to, the environment. As the age old saying goes, give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish, he eats for life. 51Give promotes micro entrepreneurs engaged in sustainable projects. Poverty is not only about money, it’s also about environmental degradation, hence the emphasis on encouraging loans towards sustainable projects for rural entrepreneurs.
You can learn more about 51Give at the 51give website or the [51give blog] (http://51give.com/blogs/)
| Website | 51give.com |
| Blog | blog.51give.com |
| Stage | Beta |
