Les històries que expliquem dels altres importen molt. Les històries que expliquem sobre les nostres pròpies vides importen. I sobretot, penso que la manera en què participem en les històries dels altres és de gran importància. Jo tenia sis anys quan vaig sentir per primer cop històries sobre els pobres. Bé, no les sentia dels mateixos pobres, les sentia de la meva professora de catequesi i de Jesús, a través de la meva professora de catequesi. Recordo que vaig aprendre que la gent pobre necessitava coses materials -- menjar, roba, refugi -- que no tenien. I també em van ensenyar, juntament amb això, que era el meu deure -- en una classe plena de nens de cinc i sis anys -- era el nostre deure, segons sembla, ajudar. Això és el que Jesús ens demanava. I ell va dir, "El que feu pel més humil de tots, ho feu per mi." Bé, jo estava bastant mentalitzada. Estava ansiosa per ser útil pel món. Crec que tots tenim aquest sentiment. I a més, resultava bastant interessant que Déu necessités ajuda. Per a mí era una novetat, i semblava que era una cosa molt important en què participar.
The stories we tell about each other matter very much. The stories we tell ourselves about our own lives matter. And most of all, I think the way that we participate in each other's stories is of deep importance. I was six years old when I first heard stories about the poor. Now I didn't hear those stories from the poor themselves, I heard them from my Sunday school teacher and Jesus, kind of via my Sunday school teacher. I remember learning that people who were poor needed something material -- food, clothing, shelter -- that they didn't have. And I also was taught, coupled with that, that it was my job -- this classroom full of five and six year-old children -- it was our job, apparently, to help. This is what Jesus asked of us. And then he said, "What you do for the least of these, you do for me." Now I was pretty psyched. I was very eager to be useful in the world -- I think we all have that feeling. And also, it was kind of interesting that God needed help. That was news to me, and it felt like it was a very important thing to get to participate in.
Però poc després vaig aprendre que Jesús també va dir, i parafrasejo, que els pobres sempre serien amb nosaltres. Això em va frustrar i confondre. Em vaig sentir com si m'acabessin de posar uns deures que havia de fer, i estava emocionada per fer, però que fes el que fes, fracassaria. Així que em vaig sentir confusa, una mica frustrada i enfadada, com si hagués malentès alguna cosa. I em vaig sentir aclaparada. I per primer cop, vaig començar a tenir por d'aquest grup de persones i a sentir emocions negatives envers tot un grup de gent. M'imaginava com una llarga fila d'individus que mai no marxarien, que sempre serien amb nosaltres. Sempre em demanarien que els ajudés i els donés coses, la qual cosa m'entusiasmava, però no sabia com resultaria. I no sabia què passaria quan em quedés sense coses per donar, especialment si el problema no desapareixeria mai. Durant els anys següents, la resta d'històries que vaig sentir dels pobres no van ser més positives. Per exemple, vaig veure fotos i imatges sovint de tristesa i patiment. Sentia parlar de coses que no anaven bé en les vides dels pobres. Sentia parlar de malalties. Sentia parlar de guerra. Semblaven estar sempre vinculades. I en general, vaig arribar a aquest tipus d'idea de que els pobres del món vivien vides que portaven implícites patiment i tristesa, devastació, desesperança.
But I also learned very soon thereafter that Jesus also said, and I'm paraphrasing, the poor would always be with us. This frustrated and confused me; I felt like I had been just given a homework assignment that I had to do, and I was excited to do, but no matter what I would do, I would fail. So I felt confused, a little bit frustrated and angry, like maybe I'd misunderstood something here. And I felt overwhelmed. And for the first time, I began to fear this group of people and to feel negative emotion towards a whole group of people. I imagined in my head, a kind of long line of individuals that were never going away, that would always be with us. They were always going to ask me to help them and give them things, which I was excited to do, but I didn't know how it was going to work. And I didn't know what would happen when I ran out of things to give, especially if the problem was never going away. In the years following, the other stories I heard about the poor growing up were no more positive. For example, I saw pictures and images frequently of sadness and suffering. I heard about things that were going wrong in the lives of the poor. I heard about disease, I heard about war -- they always seemed to be kind of related. And in general, I got this sort of idea that the poor in the world lived lives that were wrought with suffering and sadness, devastation, hopelessness.
I amb el pas del temps, vaig desenvolupar quelcom que crec que tots sentim, aquesta reacció previsible, de començar a sentir-me malament cada cop que sentia parlar d'ells. Vaig començar a sentir-me culpable pel meu relatiu benestar, perquè no estaba fent més per a millorar les coses. I fins i tot me'n avergonyia. I aleshores, naturalment, vaig començar a distanciar-me'n. Vaig deixar d'escoltar les seves històries tant atentament com abans. I vaig deixar d'esperar que les coses canviessin realment. Però vaig seguir donant. Des de fora semblava que seguia bastant involucrada. Donava del meu temps i els meus diners. Donava quan les solucions estaven a la venda. El que costa un cafè pot salvar la vida d'un nen. En fi, qui pot discutir això? Donava quan estava acorralada, quan era difícil d'evitar, i donava, generalment, quan les emocions negatives s'acumulaven tant que ho feia per alleujar el meu propi sofriment, no el dels altres. Francament, és des d'allà que donava, no des d'un indret genuí d'esperança, emoció per donar i generositat. Es va convertir en una transacció per a mí, una espècie d'intercanvi. Estava adquirint quelcom. Comprava el meu dret de seguir amb el meu dia sense necessitat de ser molestada per aquestes notícies dolentes. I crec que la forma en què portem això a vegades pot, per a començar, deshumanitzar un grup de persones, individus que viuen allà fora, al món. I també es pot transformar en una mercaderia, la qual cosa fa molta por. Així que fent això, tal i com fem molts de nosaltres, comprava la meva distància, com qui diu, comprava el dret a seguir amb el meu dia. Penso que aquest intercanvi pot interferir en allò que més volem. Pot interferir en el nostre desig de ser realment significatius i útils per a la vida d'una altra persona i, en una paraula, d'estimar.
And after a while, I developed what I think many of us do, is this predictable response, where I started to feel bad every time I heard about them. I started to feel guilty for my own relative wealth, because I wasn't doing more, apparently, to make things better. And I even felt a sense of shame because of that. And so naturally, I started to distance myself. I stopped listening to their stories quite as closely as I had before. And I stopped expecting things to really change. Now I still gave -- on the outside it looked like I was still quite involved. I gave of my time and my money, I gave when solutions were on sale. The cost of a cup of coffee can save a child's life, right. I mean who can argue with that? I gave when I was cornered, when it was difficult to avoid and I gave, in general, when the negative emotions built up enough that I gave to relieve my own suffering, not someone else's. The truth be told, I was giving out of that place, not out of a genuine place of hope and excitement to help and of generosity. It became a transaction for me, became sort of a trade. I was purchasing something -- I was buying my right to go on with my day and not necessarily be bothered by this bad news. And I think the way that we go through that sometimes can, first of all, disembody a group of people, individuals out there in the world. And it can also turn into a commodity, which is a very scary thing. So as I did this, and as I think many of us do this, we kind of buy our distance, we kind of buy our right to go on with our day. I think that exchange can actually get in the way of the very thing that we want most. It can get in the way of our desire to really be meaningful and useful in another person's life and, in short to love.
Afortunadament, fa uns anys, les coses van canviar per a mí perque vaig sentir parlar aquest senyor, el Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Sé que molts dels que sou aquí sabreu exactament qui és, però per donar-ne la versió abreujada per aquells que no l'hagin sentit parlar, el Dr. Yunus va guanyar el Premi Nobel de la Pau fa uns anys pel seu pioner treball en microfinances modernes. Quan el vaig sentir parlar, va ser tres anys abans d'això. Bàsicament, en les microfinances -- per si això és nou per a vosaltres -- hi heu de pensar com a serveis financers pels pobres. Penseu en tot el que es pot obtenir d'un banc i imagineu aquests productes i serveis adaptats a les necessitats d'algú que viu amb un grapat de dòlars al dia. El Dr. Yunus va compartir la seva història, explicant què era tot això, i què havia fet amb el seu Grameen Bank. També va parlar, en particular, dels microcrèdits, que són petits préstecs que podrien ajudar algú a iniciar o fer créixer un negoci. Bé, quan el vaig sentir parlar, va ser fascinant per moltes raons. La primera i més important, és que vaig saber del seu mètode de canvi al món que, per una vegada, em va mostrar, potser, una via per interactuar amb algú i donar, compartir un recurs d'una manera que no es feia estranya i no em feia sentir malament. Allò va ser emocionant. Però, el que és encara més important, ell explicava històries dels pobres diferents de les que havia sentit mai. En realitat, el fet que aquells individus de qui parlava eren pobres era com una nota al marge. Ell parlava d'emprenedors forts, intel·ligents i treballadors que es llevaven cada dia i feien coses per a millorar les seves vides i les de les seves famílies. Tot el que necessitaven per fer-ho més ràpidament i millor era una mica de capital. Per a mí va ser una revelació meravellosa.
Thankfully, a few years ago, things shifted for me because I heard this gentleman speak, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. I know many in the room probably know exactly who he is, but to give the shorthand version for any who have not heard him speak, Dr. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago for his work pioneering modern microfinance. When I heard him speak, it was three years before that. But basically, microfinance -- if this is new to you as well -- think of that as financial services for the poor. Think of all the things you get at your bank and imagine those products and services tailored to the needs of someone living on a few dollars a day. Dr. Yunus shared his story, explaining what that was, and what he had done with his Grameen Bank. He also talked about, in particular, microlending, which is a tiny loan that could help someone start or grow a business. Now, when I heard him speak, it was exciting for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I learned about this new method of change in the world that, for once, showed me, maybe, a way to interact with someone and to give, to share of a resource in a way that wasn't weird and didn't make me feel bad -- that was exciting. But more importantly, he told stories about the poor that were different than any stories I had heard before. In fact, those individuals he talked about who were poor was sort of a side note. He was talking about strong, smart, hardworking entrepreneurs who woke up every day and were doing things to make their lives and their family's lives better. All they needed to do that more quickly and to do it better was a little bit of capital. It was an amazing sort of insight for me.
I, de fet, em va commoure tan profundament, se'm fa difícil expressar fins a quin punt em va afectar, però em va xocar tant que poques setmanes més tard vaig deixar la feina, i vaig viatjar a l'est de l'Àfrica a intentar esbrinar per mí mateixa de què anava tot allò. Per primera vegada, en realitat, en molt de temps volia conèixer aquells individus, volia conèixer aquells emprenedors, i veure per mí mateixa com eren les seves vides realment. Així que vaig passar tres mesos a Kènia, Uganda i Tanzània entrevistant-me amb emprenedors que havien rebut 75 euros per a engegar o engrandir un negoci. I de fet, a través d'aquelles interaccions, per primera vegada, vaig començar a fer-me amiga d'algunes d'aquelles persones d'aquell grup tan abstracte que suposadament estava tant lluny. Vaig començar a fer-m'hi amiga i a conèixer les seves històries personals. I una vegada i una altra, mentre els entrevistava i passava els meus dies amb ells, vaig sentir històries de vides canviades i sorprenents petits detalls de canvi.
And I, in fact, was so deeply moved by this -- it's hard to express now how much that affected me -- but I was so moved that I actually quit my job a few weeks later, and I moved to East Africa to try to see for myself what this was about. For the first time, actually, in a long time I wanted to meet those individuals, I wanted to meet these entrepreneurs, and see for myself what their lives were actually about. So I spent three months in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania interviewing entrepreneurs that had received 100 dollars to start or grow a business. And in fact, through those interactions, for the first time, I was starting to get to be friends with some of those people in that big amorphous group out there that was supposed to be far away. I was starting to be friends and get to know their personal stories. And over and over again, as I interviewed them and spent my days with them, I did hear stories of life change and amazing little details of change.
Vaig sentir parlar de pastors de cabres que havien emprat els diners que havien rebut en comprar algunes cabres més. La trajectòria dels seus negocis canviaria. Farien una mica més de diners. La seva qualitat de vida milloraria. I farien petits arranjaments a les seves vides realment interessants, com ara enviar els nens a l'escola. Probablement podrien comprar-se teles mosquiteres. Potser podrien permetre's un pany a la porta per a sentir-se segurs. Potser podrien simplement posar sucre al te i oferir-me'n quan hi anés de visita i això els faria sentir orgullosos. Però hi havia aquets detalls bonics, encara que parlés amb 20 pastors seguits, i alguns dies això és el que passava -- aquests preciosos senyals de canvi de vida que eren tant significatius per a ells. Aquesta va ser una altra cosa que realment em va arribar. Va ser una lliçó d'humilitat veure per primer cop, entendre realment que, encara que hagués pogut agafar una vareta màgica i arreglar-ho tot, probablement m'hagués equivocat en moltes coses. Perquè la millor manera per a la gent d'arreglar les seves vides és que tinguin el control i que ho facin de la forma que creguin més convenient per a ells. Així que me'n vaig adonar i va ser una cura d'humiltat.
So I would hear from goat herders who had used that money that they had received to buy a few more goats. Their business trajectory would change. They would make a little bit more money; their standard of living would shift and would get better. And they would make really interesting little adjustments in their lives, like they would start to send their children to school. They might be able to buy mosquito nets. Maybe they could afford a lock for the door and feel secure. Maybe it was just that they could put sugar in their tea and offer that to me when I came as their guest and that made them feel proud. But there were these beautiful details, even if I talked to 20 goat herders in a row, and some days that's what happened -- these beautiful details of life change that were meaningful to them. That was another thing that really touched me. It was really humbling to see for the first time, to really understand that even if I could have taken a magic wand and fixed everything, I probably would have gotten a lot wrong. Because the best way for people to change their lives is for them to have control and to do that in a way that they believe is best for them. So I saw that and it was very humbling.
Bé, una altra cosa interessant va passar mentre jo era allà. Ni una sola vegada em van demanar una donació, que era al que jo estava acostumada. Hi ha pobresa; dones diners per ajudar. Ningú no em va demanar una donació. De fet, ningú no volia de cap manera que em sentís malament per ells. Com a màxim, volien poder fer més del que ja feien i construir a partir de les seves pròpies habilitats. El que sí que vaig sentir, de tant en tant, és que la gent volia un préstec -- vaig pensar que sonava molt raonable i emocionant. Per cert, vaig estudiar filosofia i poesia a la universitat, així que no sabia la diferència entre beneficis i ingressos quan vaig anar a l'Àfrica oriental. Simplement tenia la impressió de que els diners servirien. I la meva iniciació als negocis va ser amb aquestes petites injeccions de capital de 75 €. I vaig aprendre sobre beneficis i ingressos, sobre apalancament, sobre tot tipus de coses, de grangers, de costureres, de ramaders. Així que aquesta idea de que aquestes noves històries de negocis i esperança les hauria de compartir amb els meus amics i familiars, i de pas, potser aconseguiríem una mica d'aquests diners que ells necessitaven per a poder continuar amb els seus negocis, en forma de préstecs, aquesta simple idea es va convertir en Kiva.
Anyway, another interesting thing happened while I was there. I never once was asked for a donation, which had kind of been my mode, right. There's poverty, you give money to help -- no one asked me for a donation. In fact, no one wanted me to feel bad for them at all. If anything, they just wanted to be able to do more of what they were doing already and to build on their own capabilities. So what I did hear, once in a while, was that people wanted a loan -- I thought that sounded very reasonable and really exciting. And by the way, I was a philosophy and poetry major in school, so I didn't know the difference between profit and revenue when I went to East Africa. I just got this impression that the money would work. And my introduction to business was in these $100 little infuses of capital. And I learned about profit and revenue, about leverage, all sorts of things, from farmers, from seamstresses, from goat herders. So this idea that these new stories of business and hope might be shared with my friends and family, and through that, maybe we could get some of the money that they needed to be able to continue their businesses as loans, that's this little idea that turned into Kiva.
Uns quants mesos més tard, vaig tornar a Uganda amb una càmera digital i una pàgina web bàsica que la meva parella, el Matthew, i jo havíem creat, i vam fer fotos de set dels meus nous amics, vam penjar les seves històries a la web, aquestes històries d'emprenedoria, les vam fer arribar a amics i família i vam dir: "Creiem que això és legal. Encara no tenim resposta de la SEC (Comissió de Seguretat i Intercanvi) sobre els detalls, però us interessaria participar en això, proporcionar-los els diners que necessiten?" Els diners van arribar bàsicament d'un dia per l'altre. Els vam enviar a Uganda. I en els sis mesos següents, va passar una cosa preciosa; els emprenedors van rebre els diners, els van pagar i, efectivament, els seus negocis van créixer, i van ser capaços de mantenir-se ells mateixos i variar la trajectòria de les seves vides. A l'octubre de 2005, després que aquells set primers préstecs foren retornats, el Matt i jo vam treure la frase "versió en proves" de la web. Vam dir, "El nostre petit experiment ha estat un èxit. Ara comencem de veritat.". Allò va ser el nostre llançament oficial. I aquell primer any, d'octubre 05 a octubre 06, Kiva va facilitar 370.000 € en préstecs. El segon any, van ser un total de 11 milions. El tercer any, la xifra va rondar els 30. El quart, vam estar gairebé en els 75. I avuí, amb menys de cinc anys de vida, Kiva ja ha facilitat més de 115 milions d'euros, en petites sumes de 20 euros, entre prestadors i emprenedors -- més d'un milió d'ells, repartits en 200 països.
A few months later, I went back to Uganda with a digital camera and a basic website that my partner, Matthew, and I had kind of built, and took pictures of seven of my new friends, posted their stories, these stories of entrepreneurship, up on the website, spammed friends and family and said, "We think this is legal. Haven't heard back yet from SEC on all the details, but do you say, do you want to help participate in this, provide the money that they need?" The money came in basically overnight. We sent it over to Uganda. And over the next six months, a beautiful thing happened; the entrepreneurs received the money, they were paid, and their businesses, in fact, grew, and they were able to support themselves and change the trajectory of their lives. In October of '05, after those first seven loans were paid, Matt and I took the word beta off of the site. We said, "Our little experiment has been a success. Let's start for real." That was our official launch. And then that first year, October '05 through '06, Kiva facilitated $500,000 in loans. The second year, it was a total of 15 million. The third year, the total was up to around 40. The fourth year, we were just short of 100. And today, less than five years in, Kiva's facilitated more than 150 million dollars, in little 25-dollar bits, from lenders and entrepreneurs -- more than a million of those, collectively in 200 countries.
Doncs en aquest punt es troba Kiva avuí en dia, per retornar-vos al present. I tot i que aquests nombres i estadístiques són interessants i realment divertits d'explicar, per a mí, en realitat Kiva va d'històries. Va de reexplicar la història dels pobres, i de donar-nos a nosaltres mateixos una oportunitat d'involucrar-nos que validi la seva dignitat, que validi una relació de companyerisme, i no una relació basada en la tradicional estranyesa que es pot donar entre donant i beneficiari. En lloc d'això, una relació que promogui el respecte i l'esperança i aquest optimisme de que junts podem avançar. El que espero és, no només que els diners segueixin fluint a través de Kiva -- cosa que és molt positiva i significativa -- sinó que espero que Kiva pugui desdibuixar les línies que hi ha, com he dit, entre les tradicionals categories de rics i pobres que ens han ensenyat a veure en el món aquesta falsa dicotomia entre nosaltres i ells, entre tenir i no tenir. Espero que Kiva pugui esborrar aquestes línies. Perquè, mentre això passi, crec que podem sentir-nos lliures per a interactuar d'un mode més obert, més just i més creatiu, per a comprometre'ns i ajudar-nos els uns als altres.
So that's where Kiva is today, just to bring you right up to the present. And while those numbers and those statistics are really fun to talk about and they're interesting, to me, Kiva's really about stories. It's about retelling the story of the poor, and it's about giving ourselves an opportunity to engage that validates their dignity, validates a partnership relationship, not a relationship that's based on the traditional sort of donor beneficiary weirdness that can happen. But instead a relationship that can promote respect and hope and this optimism that together we can move forward. So what I hope is that, not only can the money keep flowing forth through Kiva -- that's a very positive and meaningful thing -- but I hope Kiva can blur those lines, like I said, between the traditional rich and poor categories that we're taught to see in the world, this false dichotomy of us and them, have and have not. I hope that Kiva can blur those lines. Because as that happens, I think we can feel free to interact in a way that's more open, more just and more creative, to engage with each other and to help each other.
Imagineu com us sentiu quan veieu algú al carrer demanant i esteu a punt d'apropar-vos-hi. Imagineu com us sentiu. I ara imagineu la diferència amb veure algú que té una història d'emprenedoria i treball dur i vol parlar-vos del seu negoci. Potser estigui somrient, i vulgui explicar-vos el que ha fet. Imagineu que esteu parlant amb algú que està fent créixer i prosperar alguna cosa, algú que està utilitzant el seu talent per fer quelcom productiu, algú que ha construït el seu propi negoci des de zero, que està envoltat d'abundància, i no d'escassetat, que de fet està creant abundància, algú amb les mans plenes d'alguna cosa per oferir, i no amb les mans buides demanant-vos que li doneu alguna cosa. Imagineu si poguéssiu sentir una història que no esperàveu d'algú que es lleva cada dia i treballa molt molt dur per a fer la seva vida millor. Aquestes històries realment poden canviar la forma que tenim de pensar en els altres. I si podem reunir una comunitat sustentadora que s'apropi a aquests individus i que participi en la seva història deixant-los una mica de diners, crec que pot canviar la manera en què creiem en els altres i en el seu potencial.
Imagine how you feel when you see somebody on street who is begging and you're about to approach them. Imagine how you feel; and then imagine the difference when you might see somebody who has a story of entrepreneurship and hard work who wants to tell you about their business. Maybe they're smiling, and they want to talk to you about what they've done. Imagine if you're speaking with somebody who's growing things and making them flourish, somebody who's using their talents to do something productive, somebody who's built their own business from scratch, someone who is surrounded by abundance, not scarcity, who's in fact creating abundance, somebody with full hands with something to offer, not empty hands asking for you to give them something. Imagine if you could hear a story you didn't expect of somebody who wakes up every day and works very, very hard to make their life better. These stories can really change the way that we think about each other. And if we can catalyze a supportive community to come around these individuals and to participate in their story by lending a little bit of money, I think that can change the way we believe in each other and each other's potential.
Però per a mí Kiva tan sols és el principi. I quan faig una ullada al futur, m'és útil reflexionar sobre les coses que he après fins ara. La primera és, com ja he dit, aquesta idea d'emprenedoria que era nova per a mi. Els prestataris de Kiva, a mesura que els he anat entrevistant i coneixent en els últims anys, m'han ensenyat què és l'emprenedoria. I penso que, en el fons, és decidir que vols millorar la teva vida. Veure una oportunitat, i decidir què faràs per intentar aprofitar-la. En poques paraules, es tracta de decidir que demà pot ser millor que avuí i perseguir-ho. La segona cosa que he après és que els crèdits són una eina molt interessant per a la conectivitat. No són un donatiu. D'acord, potser no sona tan diferent. Però de fet, quan dones alguna cosa a algú i diu "gràcies", i et fa saber com van les coses, és una cosa. En canvi, quan li deixes diners, i a poc a poc te'ls torna, tens una excusa per mantenir un diàleg constant. Aquesta atenció contínua, aquesta atenció constant, és realment important per a construir diferents tipus de relació entre nosaltres. I en tercer lloc, pel que he sentit dels emprenedors que he conegut, a iguals condicions, donada la opció de simplement disposar dels diners per a fer el que necessita, o bé de comptar amb els diners més el suport i l'estímul d'una comunitat global, la gent escull comunitat més diners. És una combinació molt més significativa, molt més poderosa.
Now for me, Kiva is just the beginning. And as I look forward to what is next, it's been helpful to reflect on the things I've learned so far. The first one is, as I mentioned, entrepreneurship was a new idea to me. Kiva borrowers, as I interviewed them and got to know them over the last few years, have taught me what entrepreneurship is. And I think, at its core, it's deciding that you want your life to be better. You see an opportunity and you decide what you're going to do to try to seize that. In short, it's deciding that tomorrow can better than today and going after that. Second thing that I've learned is that loans are a very interesting tool for connectivity. So they're not a donation. Yeah, maybe it doesn't sound that much different. But in fact, when you give something to someone and they say, "Thanks," and let you know how things go, that's one thing. When you lend them money, and they slowly pay you back over time, you have this excuse to have an ongoing dialogue. This continued attention -- this ongoing attention -- is a really big deal to build different kinds of relationships among us. And then third, from what I've heard from the entrepreneurs I've gotten to know, when all else is equal, given the option to have just money to do what you need to do, or money plus the support and encouragement of a global community, people choose the community plus the money. That's a much more meaningful combination, a more powerful combination.
Amb això al cap, aquest particular episodi m'ha portat a fer el que ara faig. Ara que estic ficada en això, veig emprenedors per tot arreu. I una cosa de què m'he adonat és que hi ha moltes comunitats sustentadores al món que ja existeixen. Les xarxes socials, són una via increïble per a augmentar ràpidament el nombre de persones que tenim al nostre voltant a les nostres pròpies comunitats de suport. Així que, pensant en això, m'he estat preguntant: com podem comprometre aquestes comunitats sustentadores a catalitzar encara més idees emprenedores i a ajudar-nos a fer que demà sigui millor que avuí? Després de fer una recerca sobre el que passa als Estats Units, m'he trobat algunes dades interessants. Una d'elles és que, com era d'esperar, molts petits negocis als EE.UU i arreu del món encara necessiten diners per créixer i per fer més d'allò que volen fer, o pot ser que necessitin diners durant un mes difícil. Però sempre hi ha necessitat de recursos a prop. Per altra banda, resulta que aquests recursos no acostumen a venir d'on podríem esperar -- bancs, inversors o altres organitzacions i estructures de suport --, vénen d'amics i familiars. Algunes estadístiques diuen que el 85% o més del finançament de les petites empreses s'obté d'amics i família. Això representa uns 100.000 milions d'euros l'any. És molt. I en tercer lloc, quan la gent duu a terme aquest procés de recaptació de fons entre amics i familiars, li resulta molt incòmode, no sap ben bé què demanar, com demanar-ho o què prometre a canvi, tot i que tingui la millor de les intencions i vulgui donar les gràcies a aquells que l'estan recolzant.
So with that in mind, this particular incident has led to the things that I'm working on now. I see entrepreneurs everywhere now, now that I'm tuned into this. And one thing that I've seen is there are a lot of supportive communities that already exist in the world. With social networks, it's an amazing way, growing the number of people that we all have around us in our own supportive communities, rapidly. And so, as I have been thinking about this, I've been wondering: how can we engage these supportive communities to catalyze even more entrepreneurial ideas and to catalyze all of us to make tomorrow better than today? As I've researched what's going on in the United States, a few interesting little insights have come up. So one is that, of course, as we all might expect, many small businesses in the U.S. and all over the world still need money to grow and to do more of what they want to do or they might need money during a hard month. But there's always a need for resources close by. Another thing is, it turns out, those resources don't usually come from the places you might expect -- banks, venture capitalists, other organizations and support structures -- they come from friends and family. Some statistics say 85 percent or more of funding for small businesses comes from friends and family. That's around 130 billion dollars a year -- it's a lot. And third, so as people are doing this friends and family fundraising process, it's very awkward, people don't know exactly what to ask for, how to ask, what to promise in return, even though they have the best of intentions and want to thank those people that are supporting them.
Aleshores, per tal d'aprofitar el poder d'aquestes comunitats sustentadores d'una manera nova i permetre als emprenedors decidir per ells mateixos com volen que sigui la seva transacció financera, què els convé més a ells i als del seu entorn, just aquesta setmana estem fent un discret llançament de Profunder, una plataforma recol·lectora de gent perquè els petits negocis recaptin el que necessiten a través d'inversions d'amics i familiars. I són inversions, no donacions, ni préstecs, sinó inversions amb un retorn dinàmic. De manera que el panorama de la participació en la història, fluctua amb els alts i baixos. En poques paraules, es tracta d'una eina de "fes-ho tu mateix" perquè els petits negocis recaptin fons. I el que hom pot fer és anar a la web, crear un perfil, i establir les condicions d'inversió d'una forma molt senzilla. És molt fàcil, tant per a mi com per a qualsevol que vulgui utilitzar el lloc web. I permetem que els emprenedors comparteixin un percentatge dels seus ingressos. Poden reunir fins a 770.000 euros d'un nombre il·limitat d'inversors no acreditats ni sofisticats -- gent normal, Déu ens lliuri -- i poden compartir aquestes devolucions al llarg del temps -- sempre sota les condicions que ells hagin definit. Un cop els inversors decideixen involucrar-se, en base a aquestes condicions, poden obtenir la seva retribució en metàl·lic, o bé decidir amb antelació donar-la a una organització sense ànim de lucre. Així que poden ser inversors d'efectiu o d'una causa. El meu desig és que aquest tipus d'eina pugui mostrar a qualsevol que tingui una idea un camí a seguir per a fer allò que vol fer al món i reunir la gent que ja té al seu voltant, la gent que millor coneix i que l'estimen i el volen recolzar, reunir-los per a fer-ho possible.
So to harness the power of these supportive communities in a new way and to allow entrepreneurs to decide for themselves exactly what that financial exchange should look like, exactly what fits them and the people around them, this week actually, we're quietly doing a launch of Profounder, which is a crowd funding platform for small businesses to raise what they need through investments from their friends and family. And it's investments, not donations, not loans, but investments that have a dynamic return. So the mapping of participating in the story, it actually flows with the up and down. So in short, it's a do-it-yourself tool for small businesses to raise these funds. And what you can do is go onto the site, create a profile, create investment terms in a really easy way. We make it really, really simple for me as well as anyone else who wants to use the site. And we allow entrepreneurs to share a percentage of their revenues. They can raise up to a million dollars from an unlimited number of unaccredited, unsophisticated investors -- everyday people, heaven forbid -- and they can share those returns over time -- again, whatever terms they set. As investors choose to become involved based on those terms, they can either take their rewards back as cash, or they can decide in advance to give those returns away to a non-profit. So they can be a cash, or a cause, investor. It's my hope that this kind of tool can show anybody who has an idea a path to go do what they want to do in the world and to gather the people around them that they already have, the people that know them best and that love them and want to support them, to gather them to make this happen.
Doncs en això estic treballant ara. I per acabar, voldria dir que tot això només són eines. Ara mateix, Profunder tot just acaba d'engegar, i és molt palpable, veig molt clar, que només es tracta d'un vehicle, una eina. El que necessitem és que la gent s'interessi, que la utilitzi. tal i com es va interessar en utilitzar Kiva per a crear aquelles conexions. Però la bona notícia és que no fa falta que us convenci de que us ha d'importar. Ni tan sols ho intentaré. No crec, encara que sovint sentim les raons ètiques i morals, les raons religioses, "Heus aquí per què preocupar-te i donar et farà més feliç". No crec que ens hagin de convèncer d'això. Crec que ja ho sabem. De fet, crec que en som tan conscients, i és una realitat que ens importa tan profundament, que el que ens acostuma a frenar és la por a intentar-ho i fallar, perquè ens preocupem moltíssim per ajudar als altres i esdevenir significatius en les seves vides.
So that's what I'm working on now. And to close, I just want to say, look these are tools. Right now, Profounder's right at the very beginning, and it's very palpable; it's very clear to me, that it's just a vessel, it's just a tool. What we need are for people to care, to actually go use it, just like they've cared enough to use Kiva to make those connections. But the good news is I don't think I need to stand here and convince you to care -- I'm not even going to try. I don't think, even though we often hear, you know, hear the ethical and moral reasons, the religious reasons, "Here's why caring and giving will make you happier." I don't think we need to be convinced of that. I think we know; in fact, I think we know so much, and it's such a reality that we care so deeply, that in fact, what usually stops us is that we're afraid to try and to mess up, because we care so very much about helping each other and being meaningful in each other's lives.
Així que el que puc fer avuí, el millor que puc oferir-vos -- Us he donat la meva història, que és el millor que puc fer. I puc recordar-nos que sí que ens importa. Penso que ja ho sabem tots. I crec que tots sabem que l'amor és prou fort com per sortir allà i intentar-ho. Un segon, siusplau.
So what I think I can do today, that best thing I can give you -- I've given you my story, which is the best I can do. And I think I can remind us that we do care. I think we all already know that. And I think we know that love is resilient enough for us to get out there and try. Just a sec.
(Aplaudiments)
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Gràcies.
Thanks.
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Gràcies.
Thanks.
(Aplaudiments)
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Per a mi, la millor manera d'inspirar-se per intentar-ho és parar-se a escoltar la història d'algú altre. I estic molt agraïda per haver-ho pogut fer aquí a TED. I estic agraïda perquè cada cop que ho faig, us ho garantitzo, em sento inspirada, Em sento inspirada per la persona que escolto. I cada cop crec més en el potencial d'aquella persona per a fer grans coses al món i en el meu propi potencial per a ajudar. I això -- oblideu les eines, oblideu el flux de recursos -- això és fàcil. Creure els uns en els altres, estar realment segurs en els moments dificils de que cadascú de nosaltres pot fer coses increïbles al món, això és el que pot transformar les nostres històries en històries d'amor i la nostra història col·lectiva en una història que perpetuï l'esperança i allò que és bo per a nosaltres. De manera que, aquest creure els uns en els altres sense albergar cap mena de dubte i posar-ho en pràctica dia a dia en tot allò que fem, és el que jo crec que canviarà el món i farà que demà sigui millor que avuí.
For me, the best way to be inspired to try is to stop and to listen to someone else's story. And I'm grateful that I've gotten to do that here at TED. And I'm grateful that whenever I do that, guaranteed, I am inspired -- I am inspired by the person I am listening to. And I believe more and more every time I listen in that that person's potential to do great things in the world and in my own potential to maybe help. And that -- forget the tools, forget the moving around of resources -- that stuff's easy. Believing in each other, really being sure when push comes to shove that each one of us can do amazing things in the world, that is what can make our stories into love stories and our collective story into one that continually perpetuates hope and good things for all of us. So that, this belief in each other, knowing that without a doubt and practicing that every day in whatever you do, that's what I believe will change the world and make tomorrow better than today.
Gràcies.
Thank you.
(Aplaudiments)
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