Non-profits
I Made My First Kiva Loan to an American Entrepreneur Today
by Britt Bravo

Today I used Kiva.org to loan $25.00 to Elizabeth, a beauty salon owner in Queens, New York who needs $6,000 to purchase new chairs, hair dryers, and other items for her salon. This is the fourth loan I've made to an entrepreneur using Kiva, but the first one to an entrepreneur in the United States.

Kiva facilitates regular people, like you and me, making micro-loans to entrepreneurs who aren't able to get a loan from the bank. In the past, Kiva only worked with entrepreneurs outside of the U.S., but today they extended their services to American entrepreneurs.

Check out Good Morning America's story today about Kiva, and their interview with its President, Premal Shah. Shah explains how to be considered for a loan, and how to be a lender.

So far, Kiva has a 98% repayment rate. Once the entrepreneur you've helped pays back your loan, you can either get your money back, or reinvest it in another entrepreneur.

I'm excited about this new service first, because I'm sure more American entrepreneurs than ever could use help getting their businesses started, and second, because it makes the program less one-sided--Americans helping people in the developing world--to people helping people, wherever they live. Someone in Kenya could loan to an entrepreneur in the States, and vice versa.

I'm also hopeful that Kiva will find some microfinance partners who work specifically with American Indian, Alaskan Native and Hawaiian Native entrepreneurs like I proposed in my March post, A Kiva.org for Native American Entrepreneurs?

Kiva.org works with microfinance institutions to help identify entrepreneurs, and to distribute loans to them. They are working with ACCION USA and the Opportunity Fund for the new U.S. program. If you know of any microfinance institutions that serve Native Americans in particular, let me know.

You can read more about the launch of Kiva's U.S. program on these blogs:

 

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Britt Bravo, also blogs at Have Fun * Do Good and is a Big Vision Consultant

Submitted by Britt Bravo (view blog) on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 4:57pm

Comments

 

Important work

I've read about Kiva.  Your post will make me look into it!  It's a great idea and it must feel wonderful to help people in this way.

 

http://blog.candelarisilva.com

Good and plenty!

Submitted by Candelaria Silva on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 17:55
 

Exciting news!

Exciting news that Kiva will be helping U.S. small businesses. An organization I'm working with, Wokai -- http://www.wokai.org has a similar model in China, an area not currently covered by Kiva.

Submitted by originalie on Thu, 06/11/2009 - 01:58
 

Kiva Loans and Wokai

 Candelaria - I hope you enjoy being a Kiva Lender.

 Originale - Thanks for letting folks know about Wokai.

Submitted by Britt Bravo on Thu, 06/11/2009 - 10:34
 

ACCION USA



Britt,

I'm not sure why, but I've been having some extreme trouble with my post, though I'm going to go ahead and submit it anyway--I apologize for its apparent deformity!

Thank
you for this wonderful review of Kiva’s new domestic microlending program. I
work at ACCION USA,
one of the two Kiva field partners operating in the States, and it’s exciting
to hear so much discussion about US microloans. Kiva has been receiving a lot
of flak lately for their decision to begin facilitating loans to local
entrepreneurs. We feel that a majority of this criticism stems from a
misunderstanding of domestic microfinance—its mission and its mechanisms. AUSA
believes passionately in the value of small business and accessible credit,
having offered domestic microloans now for over a decade. With the ability to
enrich communities, empower individuals, and increase economic opportunities,
small businesses constitute a vital sector of our economy.

By
permitting loans to US microentrepreneurs, Kiva has allowed AUSA to provide
access to credit to many individuals who would have otherwise been without
financial resources. As Kiva wisely acknowledges, poverty is relative, and
income deprivation is only one component. Credit has always been scarce for
small business owners, but in the heat of the financial crisis, it has all but
evaporated. Many of our borrowers have suffered from medical debt or labored in
a difficult job with little potential for advancement. The chance to own a
prosperous small business is a massive opportunity for them. AUSA also offers
clients a wealth of financial education resources, assisting individuals better
manage their personal and business finances.

Thank
you for your contribution over Kiva! Your recommendation regarding targeting
Native American populations is an excellent one. ACCION USA already
makes a concerted effort to cater to minority populations, offering extensive
Spanish services and supporting some Portuguese and French content. We have not
done anything specific to target Native Americans, however I will suggest
it—clearly there is a great deal of need in those communities.

Submitted by shocking21 on Tue, 08/11/2009 - 11:43
 

ACCION

Thanks, shocking21 for providing more information about Kiva's US program.
 

Submitted by Britt Bravo on Wed, 08/12/2009 - 10:45