Roman Stanek's Push-Button Thinking » Kiva

Big in Tanzania

Roman Stanek — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:07:53 +0000

The global demand for energy is exploding and that is exactly why I decided to invest in coal. Or more precisely in charcoal. My investment is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and it’s run by Veronica Mtalemwa:
Veronica is a married woman with 3 children, ages 12, 6 and 2 ½. She owns a small charcoal store, which she started in 2001, and is a batique designer. She works everyday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her business and can earn a monthly profit of about $290 from her sales. More about Veronica at Kiva.org

Bear Stearns vs. Vuth Sem

Roman Stanek — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:20:00 +0000

(NEW YORK The Associated Press): On the verge of a collapse that could have shaken the very foundations of the U.S. financial system, investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. was bailed out Friday by a rival and the federal government.

Foundations of capitalism are shaking but my friend Vuth Sem is fortunately unaware of that. On the same day Bear Stearns signed a merger agreement with JP Morgan Chase in a stock swap worth $2 a share I received the following message from Kiva.org:

Dear Roman Stanek,

We are very pleased to notify you that the business you have loaned to, Motor Taxi service run by Vuth Sem, has repaid the full amount of this loan $300.00. The payment was collected and deposited by Sive Chheng Sreng.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=13041

Diary of a private investor

Roman Stanek — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:19:00 +0000

Two of Bear Stearns hedge funds filed for bankruptcy protection on August 1st. Goldman Sachs had to put additional $3 billion into their hedge fund on August 12th. This development got me a little worried about my sub-prime loan portfolio. But then in the middle of the financial meltdown, on August 13th, Motor Taxi Service has made a scheduled repayment of $25! So far the sub-prime lending crisis avoided me…

Vuth Sem, Entrepreneur

Roman Stanek — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:03:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I became a banker and I started to loan money to a group of young entrepreneurs. And Vuth Sem is one of them.
I never met Vuth and I don’t think I will ever have a chance to meet him. But I hope my $25 will help him to buy a piece of a new motorcycle. And the new motorcycle will make enough money to repay my loan. And make even more money for Vuth and his family. And if you want to see more people like Vuth to succeed and get out of poverty please join me at Kiva…