Microfinance

Lately, I got aware of a very nice initiative: http://www.kiva.org/

Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

Since its starting in 2004 Kiva reached 100 million in loans across the world.