The following is an interview with Kiva Labs Partnerships Manager Michelle Schenck, who manages a portfolio in Africa and the Middle East. Some of the responses have been edited for clarity and brevity. 


Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up in your current role at Kiva.

My career has always focused on Africa, though I initially focused on wildlife conservation and volunteered with the Jane...

Worldwide, microfinance institutions (MFIs) serve 140 million low-income people, 80 percent of whom are women, amounting to $124 billion in credit portfolios as of 2018. While MFIs provide crucial support to those beyond the reach of traditional banks and financial institutions, these numbers under-report the impact of microcredit on the poor: non-MFIs such as cooperatives, fintechs, and pay-as-you-go businesses are also important players within the microfinance movement.

The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying economic downturns represent the latest threat to face...

Today, on Juneteenth, we celebrate and recognize the end of formal slavery in the United States.

With Kiva’s core mission centered around removing systematic barriers for underserved communities, today serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go.

We are committed to becoming an organization that reflects and respects the diversity of the local communities where we work and serve. With this in mind, we will continue to do the following:

• Formalize resource groups dedicated to...

This week, we spoke with Neely Evanoff, the Capital Access Manager for the Kiva Hub in Salt Lake City. In our interview, Neely detailed the relationship between the International Rescue Committee and Kiva U.S. and the work they've done together.
 

Tell us about how Kiva U.S. became connected with the IRC!

We partnered with the IRC to teach business classes to refugee women at the IRC’s microenterprise program and developed a relationship with their staff.

IRC...

Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day—a day to show solidarity with and honor the immense courage of the 70.8 million people worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes to escape war, persecution, natural disasters, and terror.

But this year, World Refugee Day looks a bit different.

As COVID-19 spreads globally, the world’s most vulnerable populations,...

Meet Sam Shain, Kiva's Credit Operations intern! A North Carolina State University alum, Sam recently graduated with a degree in International Studies, concentrating in Global Sustainability & Development. Now, he's mid-internship with the Credit Operations team at Kiva HQ in San Francisco.
 

When I was six years old, I galvanized my church congregation to donate to Heifer International, a global nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger across the globe. I’d been taught the sustainable,...

Have you ever been consumed by passion when creating something? So much so that it gives you an unexplainable feeling that makes you want to keep on doing that very thing over and over?

For Wayan from Indonesia, Balinese wood carving does just that for him.  
 

"Balinese wood carving touches me very deeply. I have learned a variety of arts in Bali, such as gamelan dance, but carving a piece of wood gives me an incomparable sensation," says Wayan. 

More...

In The Light in the Heart, Roy T. Bennit wrote: “Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.”

Meet Zhumabubu, a 64-year old single mother living in Chuy, Kyrgyzstan. She has 7 children who live in different cities, including her youngest who has learning disabilities and still lives with her at the farmhouse.

...

At 73 years old, Estanislao has one of the most important jobs of humankind. As a farmer, he provides us nourishment by growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants for us to eat. 

He also provides employment to his community in Sensuntepeque, El Salvador and is the sole breadwinner in his family of 7. 

How did he do it? 

He focused on growth, adapted to change and asked for help when needed. 
 ...

This piece comes from Luke Seidl, Kiva’s Senior Investment Manager of Small & Growing Businesses. Originally published May 2020.

Introducing Cycle Connect

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kiva Social Enterprise team has reached out to all of the 85 businesses we’ve supported to check-in and understand their situations. We want to share this particular story of one loan recipient, which...

Rain pummeled the roof and windows of the truck as we came to a halt and surveyed the scene before us. A raging river, some 400 meters across and extending in either direction far beyond eyesight, roared - where a few hours ago there had been an easily passable stream. The dirt road we had been bumping along had turned to mud. Thick forest enveloped the surrounding mountains, blotting out the clouds from which the rain poured down. There was no way we would make it across the river, and there were no other roads out of town. So we hunkered down in the truck and we waited.