Millions of people around the world are already adapting to the effects of climate change. Many vulnerable communities have been displaced and forced to migrate. Others are experiencing extreme heat, violent storms, floods, fires, and rising seas caused by the planet’s warming temperatures. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can help slow the causes of climate change, but since the effects of climate change are already being felt, strategies must be implemented to protect people’s homes, food supplies, and livelihoods. If humanity is going to survive climate change, we are...
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Climate change has brought humanity its greatest challenge — and perhaps its best opportunity to unite — as disruptions increasingly affect environments, economies, and people’s lives around the world. The most immediate action we can take is to try to mitigate the continued changing of our climate, as we lay the groundwork for building resilience and adaptation for the future. As countries and...
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For the 940 million people around the world without access to electricity, solar power can be the quickest, most affordable way to light up their lives. The global solar social enterprise d.light intends to reach each and every one of them. Since 2008, d.light has helped put solar-powered lanterns, cookstoves, TVs, radios, and other products into the homes of more than 100...
Continue Reading >>At Kiva, we don’t wait for Earth Day to examine and address the undeniable truth; namely, that climate change is a defining issue of our time.
For us and many of our lender community, climate has been – and continues to be – a main focus area. Last year Kiva reached almost 100,000 people with climate-smart loans*. That's nearly one person every five minutes. These are loans that support climate change-impacted people. Loans that promote environmental justice. Loans that facilitate the mitigation of, adaptation to, and resilience in the face of climate change. Since the...
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There’s no more time for debate: Climate change is here, and humanity must respond. In order to help ourselves and others bear the brunt of change already happening and the challenges to come, we must increase our resilience to climate shocks. Flooding, wildfires, drought, violent storms, and extreme heat are evidence of the climate crisis affecting every region of the planet and...
Continue Reading >>The age-old aphorism “the customer is always right” rings true at Kiva US. Here, our “customers” are those we serve – the hardworking, talented entrepreneurs and small business owners who come to Kiva with dreams of accessing the capital that will empower them to grow their businesses. To date, we – together with more than 230,000 lenders worldwide – have facilitated the crowdfunding of more than $60M in loans to more than 8,000 individuals in the U.S...
Continue Reading >>At any given moment, Kiva’s website hosts thousands of borrower profiles and loan requests from all corners of the globe. As a result, many of these profiles require review as well as translation or editing before being made visible to the public. This is where the Review and Translation Program (RTP) steps in. RTP comprises hundreds of volunteers who review, translate, and edit loans daily to see them fundraise on the Kiva site. These individuals typically review about 16,000+ loans per month. Just last year, they contributed to over $143 million in funded loans. This...
Continue Reading >>Kiva’s mission is to open financial opportunity for all — especially those in underserved communities. At Kiva US, we provide small business owners with micro-loans at 0% interest and with zero fees. We’re proud to celebrate the work we did toward furthering our mission in 2022 with the support, passion, and shared commitment to financial inclusion from our dedicated partners and lenders. Here are some of the things...
Continue Reading >>Today, Kiva executed our largest writeoff to date. We forgave $2,001,388 in loans from our lending partner Al Majmoua in Lebanon, a country that has been facing an unprecedented economic and political crisis since 2019. We first partnered with Al Majmoua, a nonprofit microfinance institution, in 2007 and together have facilitated over $25M in loans...
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Each International Women's Day, gender equality is a recurring theme across social media and global political dialogues. With all this focus, it can feel like we have come a long way toward reaching gender parity. And that's true — in some spaces. In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, one of which was to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2030. Since then, we have seen tremendous...
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