How much money does it take to change someone’s life? If the first number that came to mind was in the hundreds or thousands of dollars, you may be surprised to find that the number is much, much lower. Thanks to Kiva Microfinace, you can change someone’s life for as little as $25. Since its founding in 2005, the San Francisco-based company has facilitated $292 million in loans in more than sixty countries worldwide and can boast a higher than ninety-eight percent repayment rate. Kiva wants to create a world where everyone has the ability to create opportunity for themselves and for others.
Making a loan through Kiva is simple: one hundred percent of your loan amount is passed on to one of 147 microfinance institutions, called Field Partners, across the world; the money is then administered to people in need who either do not have access to traditional banking systems or who cannot get loans through traditional banking systems. All of loans made through Kiva use PayPal, which does not deduct fees as it normally does.
Kiva, which means “unity” in Swahili, was founded by Matt Flannery, who now works as its Chief Executive Officer, and Jessica Jackley, who spent time in East Africa helping local entrepreneurs start small businesses. During their time there, they found out just how difficult it is for people to start business ventures due to a lack of startup capital. Inspired, they founded Kiva soon after.
Today, most of Kiva’s loans are made to struggling international entrepreneurs. It has made the process of person-to-person lending easier for both the investor and the entrepreneur, who now has access to financing means which would otherwise be unavailable. And although Kiva has made great strides toward achieving its goal of worldwide opportunity, they plan to continually expand their reach and to make the lending process more secure than ever before.
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