Blog posts tagged with education

Apr 4, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva hosts high school students for some design thinking By Emily Wakefield
Young people everywhere are taking action to celebrate the Month of Microfinance this April, but one group of students and teachers from Overlake School in Seattle actually made the trek to spend the week with us at Kiva Headquarters in San Francisco. These impressive young students took part in a ‘Design Thinking’ exercise to help develop some of Kiva’s future projects and initiatives. 



Design thinking is a strategy for creative brainstorming that encourages participants to ideate, innovate, and continue looping back until a real... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Challenging the traditional loan model with longer loan terms By Eileen Silva
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... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Lending to eradicate child marriage By Emily Wakefield


Despite the many efforts and programs in the developing world, girls are still largely disadvantaged. In general, they tend to have less access to education and fewer social and economic opportunities than their male counterparts.

One significant indicator of the well-being of adolescent girls is child marriage. While this is an issue that can also effect boys, it's impact on girls is hugely disproportionate.

Reasons for child marriage range from economic to social. In many cases, girls are married off at an early age to reduce the... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva partner Strathmore University jumpstarts students' careers By Emily Wakefield

Strathmore University is one of the leading private universities in Kenya. And in January of 2012, it became Kiva’s first university partner -- allowing lenders to make loans to low-income students for tuition and other supplies. Securing tuition fees is a major challenge for many Strathmore students, and every year, about a third of accepted applicants are unable to enroll because they don't have the money. We're proud to be changing this picture one loan at a time.

Last week, Strathmore held its 9th Annual Career Fair. Altogether, 31 organizations from... Continue Reading >
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