Forget about Ning, the future is Kiva: coordination economies, microchunking into new domains (in this case, capital formation), and disrupting markets and regulatory structures in the process. Seriously, unspeakably, awesome.
not very interesting at first glance. the idea is good and wholesome, but the flavor isn't tasty. I imagine it could be made more appealing and fun, but I don't have any concrete ideas. More transparency to the loan recipient experience subsequent to loan might make it more rewarding.
Actually Unitus CEO, Geoff Davis, was one th first members on Kiva's Board of Directors.
Since Kiva looks to the Field Partners (MFIs) to ensure culturally relevant impact for micro-entrepreneurs, the Kiva model is applicable anywhere in the world MFIs can exist.