SAN JOSE, CA. – February 3, 2009 – This Valentine’s Day, MicroPlace (www.MicroPlace.com), a website that enables everyday people to make investments in the world’s working poor, is offering a different way for people to demonstrate their love on Valentine’s Day through Invest With Your Heart, a program where people can make investments in honor of loved ones for as little as $20.
This Valentine’s Day, more than ever, people are looking for ways to give gifts that have deep meaning and real value,” says Ashwini Narayanan, general manager of MicroPlace. Invest with Your Heart gives people the unique opportunity to give a gift that combines Valentine’s Day traditions with a way to do good in the form of a microloan for an entrepreneur in the developing world.”
How it works
Beginning February 2, anyone can log onto (www.microplace.com/gift) and invest as little as $20 “in honor of” a loved one. The honoree will receive a specially wrapped box of fair trade chocolate hearts from Divine Chocolate ““ co-owned by a fair trade farming co-op of microfinance borrowers in Ghana ““ along with a personalized gift card highlighting the impact of microfinance.
Because MicroPlace investors can reinvest their dollars over and over again, they can help an exponential number of the working poor lift themselves from poverty. Worldwide there are 100 million hardworking poor entrepreneurs who have benefited from microfinance while nearly 1 billion could benefit if given the opportunity1. Invest With Your Heart aims to meet this need with the power of love.
Why Invest with MicroPlace
MicroPlace allows investors to select investments that fit their own personal interests ““ or the interests of their honorees ““ whether a specific country or social focus such as women or fair trade. Once the investment is made, investors can track the investment through the MicroPlace website, and witness its social and financial impact.
About MicroPlaceӬ
MicroPlace (www.microplace.com), launched in 2007, is the world’s first website for everyday people to make investments in the world’s working poor. As an online investment marketplace whose mission it is to help alleviate global poverty, MicroPlace is paving the way to enable a billion people to lift themselves out of poverty. MicroPlace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY).
