Amanda Keppert, pictured above, obtained a $6,500 loan at a 6.5% interest rate through the Opportunity Fund (a California microlender). Prior to accepting a microfinance loan, Amanda applied and was rejected for loans at traditional banks. Keppert believes she would have lost Mandy’s Korner, her hot dog stand, if it weren’t for the microfinance loan she was able to secure.

Keppert’s microfinance loan is part of a pilot program that has been available in California and New Your since last summer. Kiva uploads profiles of small businesses to inspire donations from site visitors and disperses the loans through local microfinance organizations like ACCION USA and the Opportunity Fund. Since the inception of this program, 137 American companies have been helped through microfinance loans.

In an ailing economy, people are inspired to help others in their own communities and Kiva’s pilot program enables individuals to do so. “People are compelled to do something in their backyard,” said Gina Harman, president and chief executive of Accion USA, a microlender and partner in Kiva’s American pilot program.

For the full story on Keppart’s hot dog stand and others helped through this new pilot project, read the New York Times: With Credit Tight Microlending Blossoms.