In this last installment of the Passport Series focused on Tajikistan, we wanted to share with you a few success stories from the field. Meet Nafisa. A 29-year-old mother of two, Nafisa lives in the town of Jabar Rasulov in Tajikistan. When she was younger, family circumstances prevented her from attending college. But she was determined to find a rewarding career, and decided to apply her talents as a cook -- a skill she’d learned from her mother. In 2005, Nafisa and her husband opened a small restaurant in the center of town. In the beginning, work was tough. A... Continue Reading >
Feb 21, 2013
Kiva HQ
In this last installment of the Passport Series focused on Tajikistan, we wanted to share with you a few success stories from the field. Meet Nafisa. A 29-year-old mother of two, Nafisa lives in the town of Jabar Rasulov in Tajikistan. When she was younger, family circumstances prevented her from attending college. But she was determined to find a rewarding career, and decided to apply her talents as a cook -- a skill she’d learned from her mother. In 2005, Nafisa and her husband opened a small restaurant in the center of town. In the beginning, work was tough. A... Continue Reading >
In this last installment of the Passport Series focused on Tajikistan, we wanted to share with you a few success stories from the field. Meet Nafisa. A 29-year-old mother of two, Nafisa lives in the town of Jabar Rasulov in Tajikistan. When she was younger, family circumstances prevented her from attending college. But she was determined to find a rewarding career, and decided to apply her talents as a cook -- a skill she’d learned from her mother. In 2005, Nafisa and her husband opened a small restaurant in the center of town. In the beginning, work was tough. A... Continue Reading >
Feb 20, 2013
Kiva HQ
Earlier this month, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme released the report "Rethinking Economic Growth: Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies," stressing the need for improved governance, social justice and economic progress in the Arab world. Recent Arab uprisings have highlighted a lack of social protection and dialogue between citizens and authorities. According to the report, the Arab world had the second lowest productivity growth rate of any world region between 2000 and 2010. While policies were enacted in... Continue Reading >
Earlier this month, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Development Programme released the report "Rethinking Economic Growth: Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies," stressing the need for improved governance, social justice and economic progress in the Arab world. Recent Arab uprisings have highlighted a lack of social protection and dialogue between citizens and authorities. According to the report, the Arab world had the second lowest productivity growth rate of any world region between 2000 and 2010. While policies were enacted in... Continue Reading >
Feb 15, 2013
Kiva HQ
This year, Valentine's Day wasn't just about sappy cards and fancy dinners. It was about a revolution. Last week, thousands of women all over the world “rose” -- demanding an end to violence against women. Founded by Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues and founder of V-Day, One Billion Rising is a global movement to end violence against women once and for all. The movement gets its name from the staggering U.N. statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime -- roughly... Continue Reading >
This year, Valentine's Day wasn't just about sappy cards and fancy dinners. It was about a revolution. Last week, thousands of women all over the world “rose” -- demanding an end to violence against women. Founded by Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues and founder of V-Day, One Billion Rising is a global movement to end violence against women once and for all. The movement gets its name from the staggering U.N. statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime -- roughly... Continue Reading >
Feb 15, 2013
Kiva HQ
This is a guest post from Bob Harris, author, adventurer, Kiva super lender, and captain of the incredible Friends of Bob Harris lending team. This is the second in a series of posts from Bob chronicling his travels around the world meeting Kiva borrowers. Read his last piece about making fireworks in Nicaragua here, and start getting excited about the release of his new book The International Bank of Bob, available starting March 5. For my upcoming book about visiting Kiva clients in the field, I traveled around the world with side trips on five continents, visiting destinations... Continue Reading >
This is a guest post from Bob Harris, author, adventurer, Kiva super lender, and captain of the incredible Friends of Bob Harris lending team. This is the second in a series of posts from Bob chronicling his travels around the world meeting Kiva borrowers. Read his last piece about making fireworks in Nicaragua here, and start getting excited about the release of his new book The International Bank of Bob, available starting March 5. For my upcoming book about visiting Kiva clients in the field, I traveled around the world with side trips on five continents, visiting destinations... Continue Reading >
Feb 14, 2013
Kiva HQ
In the spirit of Valentines Day, we're celebrating people falling in love and making connections all over the world! And, as you may know, some loans on Kiva help families pay for wedding expenses. All those happy couples borrowing on Kiva come from somewhere! Exhibit A: A happy couple of Kiva borrowers in El Salvador. In many places where Kiva works, weddings are much more than fancy parties. They can have huge cultural significance -- symbolizing a critical... Continue Reading >
In the spirit of Valentines Day, we're celebrating people falling in love and making connections all over the world! And, as you may know, some loans on Kiva help families pay for wedding expenses. All those happy couples borrowing on Kiva come from somewhere! Exhibit A: A happy couple of Kiva borrowers in El Salvador. In many places where Kiva works, weddings are much more than fancy parties. They can have huge cultural significance -- symbolizing a critical... Continue Reading >
Feb 12, 2013
Kiva HQ
SPECIAL OFFER: Now when new Kiva users lend to a borrower in Tajikistan, they'll get a $25 bonus to make a loan for free to any borrower! This is a rare opportunity for the first 200 lenders who join Kiva and lend in Tajikistan between Feb. 11 and 26. You will receive an email within 30 days from Kiva letting you know if you received a $25 bonus credit or not. Read on to see why lending in Tajikistan is so important -- and influential: Shodiya used her $1,050 loan to buy a new cow, dramatically increasing... Continue Reading >
SPECIAL OFFER: Now when new Kiva users lend to a borrower in Tajikistan, they'll get a $25 bonus to make a loan for free to any borrower! This is a rare opportunity for the first 200 lenders who join Kiva and lend in Tajikistan between Feb. 11 and 26. You will receive an email within 30 days from Kiva letting you know if you received a $25 bonus credit or not. Read on to see why lending in Tajikistan is so important -- and influential: Shodiya used her $1,050 loan to buy a new cow, dramatically increasing... Continue Reading >
Feb 12, 2013
Kiva HQ
On a cold December evening in 2008, Acumen Fund's Sasha Dichter found himself in a familiar situation. Riding home on the train, he was approached by a man raising money to help the homeless. Reflexively, he denied the man his request and buried himself in his phone. But this time something felt different. Something clicked in Sasha’s head. He felt like he had done the wrong thing by not giving the man any money. "Pretty soon, 'no' becomes who you are, and what you do when somebody comes to you asking for help," Sasha has written of his experience.... Continue Reading >
On a cold December evening in 2008, Acumen Fund's Sasha Dichter found himself in a familiar situation. Riding home on the train, he was approached by a man raising money to help the homeless. Reflexively, he denied the man his request and buried himself in his phone. But this time something felt different. Something clicked in Sasha’s head. He felt like he had done the wrong thing by not giving the man any money. "Pretty soon, 'no' becomes who you are, and what you do when somebody comes to you asking for help," Sasha has written of his experience.... Continue Reading >
Feb 12, 2013
Kiva HQ
While the majority of microfinance models provide short-term credit with a two-year turnaround or less, there is a significant need for long-term finance in the marketplace. Long-term loans of 3 to 15 years, for example, are especially critical when borrowers are looking to finance educational expenses or agricultural investments. The very nature of education is long-term, whereas agriculture can involve both short- and long-term loans. Longer-term agricultural investments include microforestry, organic conversion and field renewal, to name just a few. MFIs and other financial institutions... Continue Reading >
While the majority of microfinance models provide short-term credit with a two-year turnaround or less, there is a significant need for long-term finance in the marketplace. Long-term loans of 3 to 15 years, for example, are especially critical when borrowers are looking to finance educational expenses or agricultural investments. The very nature of education is long-term, whereas agriculture can involve both short- and long-term loans. Longer-term agricultural investments include microforestry, organic conversion and field renewal, to name just a few. MFIs and other financial institutions... Continue Reading >
Feb 11, 2013
Kiva HQ
In celebration of Milepoint’s two year anniversary as a Kiva lending team, we wanted to take a look back and highlight their vast achievements thus far. The Milepoint team was started on February 12, 2011 and has since grown to over 1,500 members. Brought together by their love of travel, Milepointers just surpassed $4.5 million in Kiva loans and are excited to continue their success and momentum into the future. We chatted with two of the team captains, Randy Petersen and Haung “Ho” Yu, as well as active team member Bob Kaplan, to get an update on where the... Continue Reading >
Feb 8, 2013
Kiva HQ
That's right! Since its inception a mere 7 years ago, Kiva has helped serve up more than $400 million in loans to borrowers around the world. That's 524,572 loans making the world a better place for 971,438 borrowers with 99% repayment rate. An incredible achievement -- that we owe entirely to you, our lenders. Exactly how much is $400 million? We're glad you asked. It's approximately the same as:
That's right! Since its inception a mere 7 years ago, Kiva has helped serve up more than $400 million in loans to borrowers around the world. That's 524,572 loans making the world a better place for 971,438 borrowers with 99% repayment rate. An incredible achievement -- that we owe entirely to you, our lenders. Exactly how much is $400 million? We're glad you asked. It's approximately the same as:
- 114 million Starbucks lattes.
- 130 million gallons of gas in the U.S....