“We have very productive land here. We just need enough water to grow our crops” Irene said repeatedly as we were taking a tour of her farm in Kalamba, Kenya. Irene and her family’s primary business is managing their three-acre farm that sits in Makueni County in central Kenya. On their land, Irene grows a variety of crops including peas, tomatoes, maize and mangos. While the family has had several successful months of higher than average yields, Irene expressed her anxiety of having enough water in the coming months as we toured her farm. Irene’s concerns were not unique. I also visited... Continue Reading >>
Sam was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and graduated from Grinnell College in 2011 with a B.A. in economics. After graduation, he moved to Chicago, IL where he worked as an Associate at L.E.K. Consulting, a management consulting firm focused on strategic consulting services and commercial due diligence. Sam later moved to New York City where he worked at AOL for 3 years in multiple roles focused on business strategy and investment decision making. Sam is incredibly excited to be traveling to Kenya as a Kiva Fellow, working at the intersection of business, development and community driven finance to help individuals improve their businesses and the quality of their lives through partnering with Kiva.
Fellows Blog Posts by Sam Redlitz
Nov 10, 2016
Kenya
“We have very productive land here. We just need enough water to grow our crops” Irene said repeatedly as we were taking a tour of her farm in Kalamba, Kenya. Irene and her family’s primary business is managing their three-acre farm that sits in Makueni County in central Kenya. On their land, Irene grows a variety of crops including peas, tomatoes, maize and mangos. While the family has had several successful months of higher than average yields, Irene expressed her anxiety of having enough water in the coming months as we toured her farm. Irene’s concerns were not unique. I also visited... Continue Reading >>
Kenya
“We have very productive land here. We just need enough water to grow our crops” Irene said repeatedly as we were taking a tour of her farm in Kalamba, Kenya. Irene and her family’s primary business is managing their three-acre farm that sits in Makueni County in central Kenya. On their land, Irene grows a variety of crops including peas, tomatoes, maize and mangos. While the family has had several successful months of higher than average yields, Irene expressed her anxiety of having enough water in the coming months as we toured her farm. Irene’s concerns were not unique. I also visited... Continue Reading >>
Oct 25, 2016
Kenya
For the past 60 years, economists have been researching and discussing asset diversification and Modern Portfolio Theory. Developed first by the Nobel Economist Harry Markowitz in his 1952 paper, Portfolio Selection, Modern Portfolio Theory is the study of “a choice of the mean and variance of a portfolio of assets” (1). Modern Portfolio Theory investigates the benefits of diversifying one’s wealth across different assets, be it land, houses, stock, bonds or other asset classes. A key hypothesis in the field is that through the diversification of assets, particularly among assets... Continue Reading >>
Kenya
For the past 60 years, economists have been researching and discussing asset diversification and Modern Portfolio Theory. Developed first by the Nobel Economist Harry Markowitz in his 1952 paper, Portfolio Selection, Modern Portfolio Theory is the study of “a choice of the mean and variance of a portfolio of assets” (1). Modern Portfolio Theory investigates the benefits of diversifying one’s wealth across different assets, be it land, houses, stock, bonds or other asset classes. A key hypothesis in the field is that through the diversification of assets, particularly among assets... Continue Reading >>