Blog posts tagged with lending

Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Did you know that 80% of the loans posted to Kiva are for women borrowers?

Microfinance is an incredible force for women’s empowerment. So much so, that many microfinance institutions and organizations focus largely or exclusively on serving women. But men play a vital role in development and their communities too -- especially fathers!



So, in advance of this Father's Day (in 40 countries worldwide this Sunday), here are 9 reasons why loans to men make a big difference:

1.) Lack... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
At Kiva, we believe research is an essential part of the design process. Talking with lenders, watching them use a feature we’ve built, and analyzing data from the website are all invaluable tools which help us identify what works well and where improvements can be made.

Nearly every project we undertake can benefit from user research. This can be as simple as analyzing patterns in Google Analytics, testing a new design with a paper prototype, or releasing a feature to a small percentage of users and seeing what happens. Because we may ask you to participate in a study, or... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Some yogurts pack more punch than just fruit at the bottom. While most of us wouldn’t typically think of yogurt as a tool to fight social injustice, add in a few extra nutrients and it becomes a formidable tool in the fight against malnutrition. 

UNICEF estimates that malnutrition accounts for over one-third of all child deaths in developing countries, and the children who do survive are more susceptible to illness and mental and physical disabilities. Grameen Danone Foods is a company that was specifically set up to tackle malnutrition by selling nutrient-fortified... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Dedicate a loan to the dads in your life today!

Just go to kiva.org/lend, and look for the heart before you check out. Click to dedicate your loan to Dad — and even include a special message about why you chose that loan just for him.

When you dedicate a loan on Kiva you do three good deeds at once:
  • Give a dad in your life an unforgettable gift.
  • Give someone else in the world the tools they need to succeed.
  • Your repayments get donated to Kiva to help us reach even more borrowers.

...

Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
We’re thrilled to welcome Lumni as our new Field Partner in Chile!

Did you know that in Chile, only 40% of the eligible student population is able to access higher education -- compared to 80% in developed countries? One of the main barriers to education is the limited access to financing. The loan requirements for education may include collateral, high interest payments or inconvenient repayment loan terms that students are simply not able to take on. Lumni, a lending organization in Chile, is working to change this.

How, you wonder?... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with FUNDAPEC in the Dominican Republic!

We love investing in education. In fact, we believe that by making education available around the world through microfinance, we will be able to break the cycle of poverty in the long run. No wonder we partnered with FUNDAPEC! This incredible organization is committed to broadening access to education for all Dominicans. 



Students funded by FUNDAPEC go on to a variety of careers.

Currently, there are 13 microfinance... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
We’re thrilled to welcome Practical Empowerment and Networking Youth Association (PENYA) as our new partner in Zimbabwe!

Kiva loves supporting youth empowerment. Providing young people with training and support to pursue their dreams is a major part of our mission, which is why we’re so thrilled to bring PENYA aboard.

With high youth illiteracy rates and insufficient formal employment opportunities, Zimbabwe is one of the toughest places for youth to thrive. Ten years of economic recession from 1998 to 2008, governmental land reform... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
As you may or may not know, the Kiva Fellows Program offers between 15 and 40 extraordinary individuals the opportunity to support global microfinance around the world for four months.

During this time, Kiva fellows serve as our eyes and ears on the ground. They work closely with our partners to support their operations, improve the Kiva lending experience, and help us reach more borrowers. They're truly on the frontier of Kiva, helping to innovate, expand, develop and deepen our connections to the field.

Preparing them for their challenging roles is a team... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Last week, we released a new set of improvements to the Kiva website. Here's an overview.

FAQs on Contact Page

Kiva receives over 3,000 messages a month via our Contact Us form. Each case is read by one of our hard-working Community Support team members and receives a personal reply.

Now, after our recent update, people seeking help are presented with a list of Frequently Asked Questions related to various topics in the Contact Us form, in case any of these answers address their questions. We hope this will allow some people to find... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ


Kiva is thrilled to welcome Advans Côte d'Ivoire as our newest field partner! 

Known as Advans CI, the organization is the fifth microfinance institution established by Advans SA, a multi-national microfinance group already working in Cameroon, Ghana, Pakistan, Cambodia, and more places. 

Advans CI, founded in March 2012, is on a mission to provide credit and savings products -- in addition to other financial services -- to micro, small and medium enterprises in Côte d'Ivoire. After just one year, it's served over 3,000... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
The month of June evokes many things -- summer, graduations, beaches.

But this June evokes much more.



June is one especially inspirational Kiva Zip borrower who has experienced more than her fair share of hardships in her life.

The twelfth of 17 children, she was born to poor, uneducated parents who couldn't provide basic love and affection for each other and their own children.

June never really knew her father, and when she was just 13, her mother disappeared with five of her younger siblings,... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
On Tuesday night, the City of Oakland approved the proposal that would make them the first U.S. city to become a Kiva Zip trustee!

Kiva Zip is a pilot program within Kiva that uses mobile and electronic payment technology to enable direct, zero-interest loans between lenders and borrowers -- helping us reach more types of borrowers than ever before!

In the Zip model, “trustees” have taken the place of field partners. Trustees endorse borrowers based on their character and business plans, recommending them as good candidates for Zip loans... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ


Canterbury Microeconomics Club

A Thank You Poem
(Inspired by the rhymes of the Grade Three Kiva Ninjas at Bear Creek Elementary)

Not all feel compelled to jump up and dance,
Upon hearing that April’s Month of Micro-finance.
Once you’ve heard these stories, though, we know you’ll be crumping,
Cuz’ since we heard them here, our hearts have been thumping...

It wasn’t enough just to say “thanks,” this time,
So we’ll... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
To conclude our Passport Series on Rwanda, we would like to share with you a couple of particularly inspiring borrower stories to remind you just how impactful a $25 loan can be -- especially in a country where almost 45% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Meet Felicite. 

A 45-year-old mother of two, her (and her family’s) livelihood depends on her farm -- just like 90% of the Rwandan population.



That translates to: no crops, no income. Because the sector is deemed to be very high-risk, it... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
After several weeks of extensive user testing, we’re excited to release a new site update for the lending team "About" pages next week. This is all part of a concerted effort to better integrate lender feedback into our design process, and I’m personally excited about how much we’ve been able to do with this next round of changes. In addition to your emails and comments on the blog and lending teams, we sent out multiple surveys, interviewed a number of lenders and even had lenders visit our office so that we could learn directly from their experiences. I...
Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ


‘'It’s amazing to see the other volunteers dedicating themselves to Kiva. I am truly in awe of them and how much they know. I can always draw on them through the forum when I have a question and within seconds people respond!"

City: Minneapolis, United States

Languages: Spanish

Team: Saliendo Adelante

Time with Kiva: 3 years and 5 months

Outstanding contributions to Kiva:
Pam... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This past week we've seen so many great videos that really resonated with us. So we would like to leave you with some inspirational weekend watching material!

Video is an utterly unique medium, with so much potential. We're looking forward to bringing you more stories of Kiva borrowers on video, especially as the next class of Kiva Fellows prepares to head out into the field after training this week. In the meantime though, here are some staff favorites. 

1. Taken from a commencement address by David Foster Wallace,... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This is a guest post by Emily Stone, the managing director at Kiva partner Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize. MMC supports cacao growers in the country to improve their livelihoods and get their high-quality product to market.

Chocolate. Dark brown, delicious, sweet, creamy, cocoa-loaded delights. Brownies, cookies, mousse, tarts, cakes, ganache. Candy bars, truffles, and bonbons.

This is the chocolate that we all know and love. Given as gifts between couples, used to celebrate special events, and craved by the masses sitting at school desks and... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Tragedy struck Rwanda almost 20 years ago when hundreds of thousands of citizens were killed in a matter of months in a horrific genocide. While great strides have been made, the economy has never been the same since. Over 40% of the population still lives below the poverty line. We are proud that Kiva’s presence in Rwanda can help the nation regrow by providing opportunity to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

To date, Kiva lenders have made over 7,500 loans (over 60% of them to women) in Rwanda via five local microfinance partners. 

... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This is a guest post by Kiva Fellow Esther Honig, who spent the last four months working with Kiva partner Fondo Esperanza in Chile.

In Santiago, Chile, a recent census showed that 50% of households living below the poverty line are run by single mothers.

The reason why has a lot to do with gender inequality in Chilean society. Of 93 countries surveyed around the world, Chile ranks 60th on the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM).

While the country is considered to be fairly developed, many women still struggle to gain economic independence. The... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This is a guest post from Allie Hill, the Kiva Coordinator who works at field partner HOPE Congo. 



The author (right) with a HOPE Congo client Edith.

It was my first month living in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. I had a mixture of emotions adjusting to a new culture, climate, and language, yet I was excited about my work with HOPE Congo’s clients. During my orientation, I visited several borrowers’ meetings, including Edith’s group Shaloom 2. I could barely communicate in French, but Edith and the other members... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
For Mother's Day, we wanted to hear from some of our partners in the field about how motherhood, or helping mothers, has changed their perspective or inspired them to do more. We were excited to speak to Yuthida Sophat, treasury officer for VisionFund Cambodia, who is also a young mother.



KIVA: How does VisionFund Cambodia work to serve and support mothers?

YUTHIDA: VisionFund (Cambodia), a social-oriented MFI, has a precise mission to empower poor women and their families with small loans and other... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Just in time for Mother’s Day, Save the Children has published its 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report -- defining the best and worst places in the world to be a mother.

In this year’s report, 176 countries were ranked based on the well-being of mothers and children. Their health, educational, economic, and political status were all taken into consideration.

Kiva works with partners in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Mali, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic...
Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
No larger than the state of Maryland, Rwanda is a small landlocked nation in the heart of Africa. Full of lakes and very mountainous, it is a beautiful country with just over 12 million inhabitants.



Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history.

1994 GENOCIDE

Unfortunately, when one thinks of Rwanda perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is its tragic history of genocide. Prompted by decades... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Without the hard work and dedication of countless individuals, Kiva could never have touched the lives of over 1 million borrowers.

Kiva Coordinators are critical to making this possible. KCs work with loan officers in the field to gather photos and stories of borrowers to post on the Kiva site -- connecting them to our community of lenders ready to help. KCs ensure that borrowers are well-represented on Kiva and are getting the funding and services they need to thrive.

So we would like to take this opportunity to highlight the work of three rockstar KCs who fuel... Continue Reading >>

Pages

Blog posts tagged with lending

Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Did you know that 80% of the loans posted to Kiva are for women borrowers?

Microfinance is an incredible force for women’s empowerment. So much so, that many microfinance institutions and organizations focus largely or exclusively on serving women. But men play a vital role in development and their communities too -- especially fathers!



So, in advance of this Father's Day (in 40 countries worldwide this Sunday), here are 9 reasons why loans to men make a big difference:

1.) Lack... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
At Kiva, we believe research is an essential part of the design process. Talking with lenders, watching them use a feature we’ve built, and analyzing data from the website are all invaluable tools which help us identify what works well and where improvements can be made.

Nearly every project we undertake can benefit from user research. This can be as simple as analyzing patterns in Google Analytics, testing a new design with a paper prototype, or releasing a feature to a small percentage of users and seeing what happens. Because we may ask you to participate in a study, or... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Some yogurts pack more punch than just fruit at the bottom. While most of us wouldn’t typically think of yogurt as a tool to fight social injustice, add in a few extra nutrients and it becomes a formidable tool in the fight against malnutrition. 

UNICEF estimates that malnutrition accounts for over one-third of all child deaths in developing countries, and the children who do survive are more susceptible to illness and mental and physical disabilities. Grameen Danone Foods is a company that was specifically set up to tackle malnutrition by selling nutrient-fortified... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Dedicate a loan to the dads in your life today!

Just go to kiva.org/lend, and look for the heart before you check out. Click to dedicate your loan to Dad — and even include a special message about why you chose that loan just for him.

When you dedicate a loan on Kiva you do three good deeds at once:
  • Give a dad in your life an unforgettable gift.
  • Give someone else in the world the tools they need to succeed.
  • Your repayments get donated to Kiva to help us reach even more borrowers.

...

Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
We’re thrilled to welcome Lumni as our new Field Partner in Chile!

Did you know that in Chile, only 40% of the eligible student population is able to access higher education -- compared to 80% in developed countries? One of the main barriers to education is the limited access to financing. The loan requirements for education may include collateral, high interest payments or inconvenient repayment loan terms that students are simply not able to take on. Lumni, a lending organization in Chile, is working to change this.

How, you wonder?... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with FUNDAPEC in the Dominican Republic!

We love investing in education. In fact, we believe that by making education available around the world through microfinance, we will be able to break the cycle of poverty in the long run. No wonder we partnered with FUNDAPEC! This incredible organization is committed to broadening access to education for all Dominicans. 



Students funded by FUNDAPEC go on to a variety of careers.

Currently, there are 13 microfinance... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
We’re thrilled to welcome Practical Empowerment and Networking Youth Association (PENYA) as our new partner in Zimbabwe!

Kiva loves supporting youth empowerment. Providing young people with training and support to pursue their dreams is a major part of our mission, which is why we’re so thrilled to bring PENYA aboard.

With high youth illiteracy rates and insufficient formal employment opportunities, Zimbabwe is one of the toughest places for youth to thrive. Ten years of economic recession from 1998 to 2008, governmental land reform... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
As you may or may not know, the Kiva Fellows Program offers between 15 and 40 extraordinary individuals the opportunity to support global microfinance around the world for four months.

During this time, Kiva fellows serve as our eyes and ears on the ground. They work closely with our partners to support their operations, improve the Kiva lending experience, and help us reach more borrowers. They're truly on the frontier of Kiva, helping to innovate, expand, develop and deepen our connections to the field.

Preparing them for their challenging roles is a team... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Last week, we released a new set of improvements to the Kiva website. Here's an overview.

FAQs on Contact Page

Kiva receives over 3,000 messages a month via our Contact Us form. Each case is read by one of our hard-working Community Support team members and receives a personal reply.

Now, after our recent update, people seeking help are presented with a list of Frequently Asked Questions related to various topics in the Contact Us form, in case any of these answers address their questions. We hope this will allow some people to find... Continue Reading >>
Jun 6, 2013 KV Kiva HQ


Kiva is thrilled to welcome Advans Côte d'Ivoire as our newest field partner! 

Known as Advans CI, the organization is the fifth microfinance institution established by Advans SA, a multi-national microfinance group already working in Cameroon, Ghana, Pakistan, Cambodia, and more places. 

Advans CI, founded in March 2012, is on a mission to provide credit and savings products -- in addition to other financial services -- to micro, small and medium enterprises in Côte d'Ivoire. After just one year, it's served over 3,000... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
The month of June evokes many things -- summer, graduations, beaches.

But this June evokes much more.



June is one especially inspirational Kiva Zip borrower who has experienced more than her fair share of hardships in her life.

The twelfth of 17 children, she was born to poor, uneducated parents who couldn't provide basic love and affection for each other and their own children.

June never really knew her father, and when she was just 13, her mother disappeared with five of her younger siblings,... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
On Tuesday night, the City of Oakland approved the proposal that would make them the first U.S. city to become a Kiva Zip trustee!

Kiva Zip is a pilot program within Kiva that uses mobile and electronic payment technology to enable direct, zero-interest loans between lenders and borrowers -- helping us reach more types of borrowers than ever before!

In the Zip model, “trustees” have taken the place of field partners. Trustees endorse borrowers based on their character and business plans, recommending them as good candidates for Zip loans... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ


Canterbury Microeconomics Club

A Thank You Poem
(Inspired by the rhymes of the Grade Three Kiva Ninjas at Bear Creek Elementary)

Not all feel compelled to jump up and dance,
Upon hearing that April’s Month of Micro-finance.
Once you’ve heard these stories, though, we know you’ll be crumping,
Cuz’ since we heard them here, our hearts have been thumping...

It wasn’t enough just to say “thanks,” this time,
So we’ll... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
To conclude our Passport Series on Rwanda, we would like to share with you a couple of particularly inspiring borrower stories to remind you just how impactful a $25 loan can be -- especially in a country where almost 45% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Meet Felicite. 

A 45-year-old mother of two, her (and her family’s) livelihood depends on her farm -- just like 90% of the Rwandan population.



That translates to: no crops, no income. Because the sector is deemed to be very high-risk, it... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
After several weeks of extensive user testing, we’re excited to release a new site update for the lending team "About" pages next week. This is all part of a concerted effort to better integrate lender feedback into our design process, and I’m personally excited about how much we’ve been able to do with this next round of changes. In addition to your emails and comments on the blog and lending teams, we sent out multiple surveys, interviewed a number of lenders and even had lenders visit our office so that we could learn directly from their experiences. I...
Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ


‘'It’s amazing to see the other volunteers dedicating themselves to Kiva. I am truly in awe of them and how much they know. I can always draw on them through the forum when I have a question and within seconds people respond!"

City: Minneapolis, United States

Languages: Spanish

Team: Saliendo Adelante

Time with Kiva: 3 years and 5 months

Outstanding contributions to Kiva:
Pam... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This past week we've seen so many great videos that really resonated with us. So we would like to leave you with some inspirational weekend watching material!

Video is an utterly unique medium, with so much potential. We're looking forward to bringing you more stories of Kiva borrowers on video, especially as the next class of Kiva Fellows prepares to head out into the field after training this week. In the meantime though, here are some staff favorites. 

1. Taken from a commencement address by David Foster Wallace,... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This is a guest post by Emily Stone, the managing director at Kiva partner Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize. MMC supports cacao growers in the country to improve their livelihoods and get their high-quality product to market.

Chocolate. Dark brown, delicious, sweet, creamy, cocoa-loaded delights. Brownies, cookies, mousse, tarts, cakes, ganache. Candy bars, truffles, and bonbons.

This is the chocolate that we all know and love. Given as gifts between couples, used to celebrate special events, and craved by the masses sitting at school desks and... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Tragedy struck Rwanda almost 20 years ago when hundreds of thousands of citizens were killed in a matter of months in a horrific genocide. While great strides have been made, the economy has never been the same since. Over 40% of the population still lives below the poverty line. We are proud that Kiva’s presence in Rwanda can help the nation regrow by providing opportunity to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

To date, Kiva lenders have made over 7,500 loans (over 60% of them to women) in Rwanda via five local microfinance partners. 

... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This is a guest post by Kiva Fellow Esther Honig, who spent the last four months working with Kiva partner Fondo Esperanza in Chile.

In Santiago, Chile, a recent census showed that 50% of households living below the poverty line are run by single mothers.

The reason why has a lot to do with gender inequality in Chilean society. Of 93 countries surveyed around the world, Chile ranks 60th on the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM).

While the country is considered to be fairly developed, many women still struggle to gain economic independence. The... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
This is a guest post from Allie Hill, the Kiva Coordinator who works at field partner HOPE Congo. 



The author (right) with a HOPE Congo client Edith.

It was my first month living in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. I had a mixture of emotions adjusting to a new culture, climate, and language, yet I was excited about my work with HOPE Congo’s clients. During my orientation, I visited several borrowers’ meetings, including Edith’s group Shaloom 2. I could barely communicate in French, but Edith and the other members... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
For Mother's Day, we wanted to hear from some of our partners in the field about how motherhood, or helping mothers, has changed their perspective or inspired them to do more. We were excited to speak to Yuthida Sophat, treasury officer for VisionFund Cambodia, who is also a young mother.



KIVA: How does VisionFund Cambodia work to serve and support mothers?

YUTHIDA: VisionFund (Cambodia), a social-oriented MFI, has a precise mission to empower poor women and their families with small loans and other... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Just in time for Mother’s Day, Save the Children has published its 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report -- defining the best and worst places in the world to be a mother.

In this year’s report, 176 countries were ranked based on the well-being of mothers and children. Their health, educational, economic, and political status were all taken into consideration.

Kiva works with partners in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Mali, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic...
Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
No larger than the state of Maryland, Rwanda is a small landlocked nation in the heart of Africa. Full of lakes and very mountainous, it is a beautiful country with just over 12 million inhabitants.



Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history.

1994 GENOCIDE

Unfortunately, when one thinks of Rwanda perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is its tragic history of genocide. Prompted by decades... Continue Reading >>
May 5, 2013 KV Kiva HQ
Without the hard work and dedication of countless individuals, Kiva could never have touched the lives of over 1 million borrowers.

Kiva Coordinators are critical to making this possible. KCs work with loan officers in the field to gather photos and stories of borrowers to post on the Kiva site -- connecting them to our community of lenders ready to help. KCs ensure that borrowers are well-represented on Kiva and are getting the funding and services they need to thrive.

So we would like to take this opportunity to highlight the work of three rockstar KCs who fuel... Continue Reading >>

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