Welcome @lightnode93:matrix.org to the Communities room! Feel free to introduce yourself or ask any question! If you want to be or help us build one of the first Communities (DACs) or Campaigns on the DApp, please introduce yourself here and take a minute to fill out the form I just sent you!

In reply to @abram.symons:matrix.org

this might connect to a kinda Kiva lending model for causes but arguably more innovative.

Interesting idea if there would be Ether holders who want to
guarantee the repayment of loans.

In reply to @mroberts10:matrix.org
Abram: Not sure if you have come across this one - https://ethichub.com/ They are offering low interest loans to farmers. Imagine now a scenario a bit like Kiva, where you get individuals to front the collatoral, then offer zero interest loans. Of course the individual is now taking on risk, so you would need to mitigate the risk somehow. Perhaps it would be calculated that x percent of loans fail, and one would need a reserve. thus you could maybe do something then that a donor put in a 10% donation and a 90% collaboral loan. the 10% goes into the reserve to support failed loans that never get paid back and 90% supports the vast majority of loans that do. Thus the donors contribution gets leveraged.. anyhow just brainstorming..

there are two points here.
.

1. the system can be non zero-interest and have a minimum amount to pay the investors
   .
2. this is just a company founded on top of Ether Bank and to implement such company there's no need to change anything in Ether Bank's smart contract. Ether Bank should remain a riskless (minimum risk)
   By company I mean it literary needs to negotiate with 3 parties. and needs to find actual trustworthy farmers in real life. Such company is not a smart contract. it can use a smart contract to produce and transfer money. It can not prevent default risk though.

In reply to @danibelle:matrix.org

Also sepu85 - I see this on the connectingcultures website:
"We were not always an independent organization. CONECTANDO CULTURAS was born as a project within UNSA SPAIN (United Nations Student Association Spain) although due to the success achieved we decided to transform it into an independent organization - although we will always be united-.

On the other hand, we have been chosen to be part of the ARTSTWENTYTHIRY project of the United Nations for our work in raising awareness and applying the Sustainable Development Goals."

I love hearing stories of projects that are seeded as a student initiative, and this relationship is intriguing, with the United Nations Student Association of Spain. Were you part of the transition to independence for the team?

In reply to @abram.symons:matrix.org
Hey michael,
such systems can easily implemented as a layer on top of Ether Bank.
.
a company can be founded that uses Ether Bank to provide loans for farmers even with zero interest.
.
Such company needs three things: a. a trusted network of farmers with a low default rake in their loans b. investors who are trust the company and are willing to lock their ETH as collateral. c. Donors who are willing to compensate for the default rate.
.

Hey mroberts10 .
I think Ether Bank cannot be a good microfinance system because its loans are not only fully collateralized but also over-collateralized. Therefore it can be beneficial to two groups:
.

1. Those who HODl ETH and intend to do their business without selling their assets. This group is the main audience of the loans.
   .
2. Those unbanked individuals who do not have access to banks and banks' money but want a stable crypto-currency without any risk.
   .
   However, in Ideal Money we have plans for Micro-Credit systems too. As you know Ether Bank is but one of the projects there.
   .
   If you consider Ether Bank as a reserve bank of Ethereum, then, we can create something similar to fractional reserve bank. we can have a smart contract that creates stable credit without asking for collateral. Instead of collateral, we can ensure paybacks but defining networks of people who vouch for each other.
   .
   That would be an ideal micro-finance system in which those who don't have any ETH to put as collateral can receive zero-interest loans based on the network of friends that vouch for them.

Welcome @kmontenegro:matrix.org to the Communities room! Feel free to introduce yourself or ask any question! If you want to be or help us build one of the first Communities (DACs) or Campaigns on the DApp, please introduce yourself here and take a minute to fill out the form I just sent you!