Many years ago, Levan’s grandparents started their own hostel business in Tbilisi, Georgia. His grandmother designed the building herself and Levan is certain that his interest in architecture comes from her.
When Levan decided to pursue a university degree in architecture, he needed to get a loan. Instead of borrowing money from his family to pay a higher interest loan, Levan received a $375 loan from Kiva. This enabled him to be more independent, cover his own finances and relieve the financial burden on his family.
He’s now in the 2nd semester of his 1st year at Caucusus University in Tbilisi. He works at the family hostel at night to make sure he has enough money to pay off his loan each month.
His architecture major emphasis on technology also teaches him 3D printing, and he hopes that his higher education will secure him a more stable job in the future.
Kiva’s loans enable youth all over the world to access education and improve their opportunities in life. Click here to fund an education loan on Kiva.
About the author
Channing Fisher.
Channing first witnessed the ability of entrepreneurship to empower people while studying Spanish in Guatemala. Throughout college, she became interested in microfinance while working in business development in the Netherlands and studying the effects of tourism on Caribbean economies. After graduating from Principia College in 2018 with degrees in Political Science and Business, she began work for a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit and later found Kiva. She's passionate about communicating and sharing the work done at Kiva and elsewhere in the international development space.
