A Danish micro-financing organization called CodersTrust is taking an interesting approach to reducing third-world poverty. The organization identifies coders from Bangladesh who are listed as freelancers on oDesk or similar sites who seem to have a good work ethic but are lacking important skills. It then offers micro-loans of $2,000 that the developers can use to enhance their skills by taking classes. The money is freed up over time as the developer meets academic goals.
A quarter of all people living in Bangladesh make less than $2 per day. For now, CodersTrust is giving loans to 100 people in the country as a test project. If it is successful, they hope to open it up to more countries and to work with 100,000 developers.