I recently entered into business with a Lebanese entrepreneur through a company called Kiva, which allows people to loan money to business people in developing countries.

My partner in this business venture is Haytham Jaber, a father of two who owns and operates a grocery store in the suburbs of Beirut. The $25 loan I sent was made possible by Paypal and Kiva — a 2-year-old online global capital market that allows even the Birkenstock-wearing, granola-eating hippies who insist on ruining the tranquility of the recent WTO meetings to scratch their venture-capital itch.

 It was a tough decision to fund Mr. Jabar — I also looked into Blas Martinez’s motorcycle repair shop in Paraguay. In the end, I found Mr. Jabar’s longer credit history more comforting, though I could always diversify with loans to Ghanan wholesalers.     

With Jim Cramer broadcasting to the world that they should hold Bear Stearns two days before the bail out and the housing market in shambles, it’s the perfect time to put your money into emerging markets. I have 10 times more confidence in Kiva’s five-star credit system then even a triple-A rated collateralized debt obligation in the U.S.

With more than 27 million dollars dispersed in loans, Kiva currently has a 99.88 percent repayment rate. Sure, with this kind of record you might not collect a whole lot of risk premium, but these days a little security is a good thing. The expansion and profitability of micro credit has stunned conservative bankers. Indeed, as more and more of the world’s entrepreneurs gain access to cheap credit lines, they will be able to capture a greater share of their productive output.

Even New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof managed to figure this out, as he traveled to Afghanistan to collect his interest in bread from his Kiva investment in a bakery. Of course, when I stop in Beirut, Haytham and I will be sharing a single malt scotch — aged at the very least 30 years — paired with none other than the finest Cuban cigars. That is, if he’s a Maronite. Otherwise, I guess I’ll just have to drink for the both of us.

As I processed the transaction, I was positively beaming about the prospect of adding international financier to my résumé. With my bankroll of $300, I could easily put together a portfolio of 12 investments. Indeed, all I needed to do was put my capital to work and I would be enjoying the perks of the global elite in no time at all: Swiss bank accounts, yachts in the Mediterranean and exclusive spas in Oceania. It was time for those Russian oligarchs to step aside and let me have a turn in the presidential suite at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

I can see it now. While analyzing the credit of my business partner and monitoring currency markets, I will remind my personal assistant that after he returns the call from Stavros, my host from the casino in Monte-Carlo, he needs to find me a swanky pad in west London. Looking through my mail, I would have to decide if I was going to attend the premier of the latest production of Turandot in Venice or a gallery opening in Hong Kong. I would look back fondly and remember the investment that started my professional assent, Haytham the Lebanese grocer.

Matthew Hoover is a senior mathematics and economics major. E-mail him at mhoover1@ithaca.edu.