LinkedIn for Good: Kiva
Kiva.org is a non-profit organization revolutionizing the fight against global poverty by enabling people to connect with and make personal loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. Through Kiva, anyone can make a direct loan of as little as $25 to these entrepreneurs, providing them with vital capital to purchase business supplies such as sewing machines or livestock and empowering them to earn their way out of poverty.
How does Kiva work? From Kenya to Ecuador, microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world go to Kiva.org and post photos and profiles of low income entrepreneurs in need of money for their businesses—a dairy farmer in Kenya, a man who wants to open a shoe shop in Honduras, or a tailor in Bulgaria, for example. Lenders visit Kiva.org, browse through the profiles, and loan to the entrepreneur of their choice via PayPal. Kiva pools this money and transfers it to its MFI partner who in turn administers it to the entrepreneur. Loan repayments made by the entrepreneur over the course of about 6-18 months are sent back to Kiva by the MFI partner. Journal updates keep the lenders informed about the progress of the entrepreneur they’ve sponsored, and once loans are repaid Kiva lenders can choose to withdraw their principal or re-loan to another entrepreneur.
How can you help? As 100% loaned funds go directly to the entrepreneurs, Kiva.org relies on donations to cover its operating costs as a non-profit. Your tax-deductible donation to Kiva.org will help Kiva expand its network of MFI partners and reach even more entrepreneurs in the developing world. Of course, we also encourage you to loan to a low-income entrepreneur in the developing world by visiting Kiva.org.
Kiva.org was launched in 2005 and is run by a professional team with extensive microfinance experience and years of technical expertise from companies such as Ebay/PayPal, TiVo, Google, and MySpace.
