Kiva.org, soon to be micro-lending in China?

A very interesting job posting at Danwei.

If you read the job description carefully, there is only one possible organization that fits it: Kiva.org.

You may not have heard of this organization if you have spent the last year or more in Asia, because their rise to prominence has been very rapid and recent.  They have been featured on Oprah, in former President Clinton's new book Giving, and in many other media and publications.

The concept of micro-loans was originally pioneered by Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank, for which he won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.  What Kiva does is to leverage the Internet to enable individuals in developed nations to participate in micro-lending to small entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Kiva already works with microfinance institutions in countries like Mexico, Vietnam, Cambodia.  Based on the Danwei job posting, it seems pretty clear that they will eventually do microlending in China at some point.

Clinton in particular seems to be talking up and promoting Kiva in every interview he gives as part of his book tour.  See for instance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLWlipdlGJ4