You might say my investment in Alisher Rizoev’s farming enterprise in Tajikistan is paying dividends.

You might just be wondering how the hell I managed to invest in a farm in Tajikistan anyway - and you'd be right. But then I’ve also invested in a chicken farm in Tanzania, a farm in Cambodia and another in Vietnam as well as another farmer in Azerbaijan. Extraordinary isn’t it?

As I've enthusiastically regaled more than one close friend in the last month, Kiva is my favourite charity right now and it’s all because of what it can do. It's what I'd call microloans "done right". It takes some of the best ideas from across the web and mixes them together with a non-profit microfinance model to create an incredibly powerful and empowering idea.

I know I briefly mentioned this before, but bear with me. I think Kiva is just so good I need to expand on what I said before and maybe push it just a little more. The basic process goes like this:

You put money into Kiva which is itself a non-profit organisation, based in San Francisco I think, using a PayPal account. It’s the first organisation PayPal provided it’s services to for free of charge and if that doesn’t just increase it’s importance, I don’t know what will. You give as much or as little as you want [minimum $25], then browse the series of businesses from all around the world which have applied for money, and been vetted by local staff in their country as viable. When you find one you like you can contribute to the loan, along with a host of other lenders. Each loan is spread out over any number of lenders some of the larger loans have over fifty individuals contributing towards the total. [You can see Alisher’s other lenders at his Kiva page -  here ] The money from all the lenders is aggregated, lent to the business which spends it - in Alisher’s case, he bought more animals to raise and then sell at the local market. The recipient can then write a journal about their business as often as they like, communicating directly with the lenders. Over time, the loan is paid back and the ‘profits’ evenly distributed back to the lenders- hence Alisher’s  $153 repayment [so far] on his $450 loan earned me my first $8.44 profit. I say ‘profits’ because the entire Kiva process is non-profit making. You don't earn any interest on your loans, and Kiva doesn't take a cut. The only benefit you receive is the warm feeling that you've helped someone build their business in a meaningful way with a few dollars.

You can if you choose withdraw your funds after they are repaid, but Kiva recommends that you simply re-loan them to someone else, thereby creating a virtuous circle. Look at it as a donation that just keeps donating over time and if you for some reason your loan doesn't get paid back, then that’s what it was a donation. If it does get paid back simply donate it again. It's a little bit about teaching men to fish, not providing them with seafood platters.

Does it work? They have around a 96% payback rate right now. The thing I love about it is that from my desk I can help people around the world. My loan "portfolio" now includes businesses in Azerbaijan. Tajikistan, Tanzania, Vietnam and Cambodia, Just a few dollars of my money that could either be sitting in a bank account, or helping entrepreneurs build businesses on three different continents spread across the world while I sit on a fifth. Who can't see power in that?

So come on. What are you waiting for? You have a credit card - why not lend $25 to an aspiring entrepreneur in Ecuador and see how good it makes you feel.