Today, we're excited to introduce a new way to visualize the impact your lending team is making. Our goal is to help you better visualize the positive change created by your team, and provide you with a fun infographic that can be shared with family and friends.

We started this project by asking Kiva lenders what they thought would be the most important information to enable them visualize their team's impact. Using our learnings we crafted designs, which we reviewed with a randomly-selected cross section of lenders. The result of this process is the new “Impact” section of the... Continue Reading >>

Kiva is very excited to welcome Yunus Social Business (YSB) Funds as a new partner! In this earlier blog post we explained the importance of social businesses, which are defined as non-dividend businesses specifically created to solve a social problem. YSB was created in 2011 to expand and raise awareness about this movement, and offers advisory services and incubator funds to social businesses. They are currently working in Haiti, Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Tunisia and Togo with plans to continue expanding globally.

YSB was co-founded by... Continue Reading >>

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'Settings' can aptly be described as the plumbing of a website. They’re considerably less glamorous than the core product (e.g. lending on Kiva, posting photos on Instagram, etc.), but when they don’t work as expected it can lead to a big mess. On Kiva, the different controls we categorize as “Settings” include the type and frequency of emails you receive, how (and if) your name and photo display publicly on the Kiva website, what to do with funds that are repaid, etc. Making sure that you know how to set up your account the way you want it is part of creating a great user experience. With... Continue Reading >>

We're so excited to announce a unique partnership with Etsy today to help artisans around the world get the capital they need to grow their businesses and succeed!

For those who aren't familiar, Etsy is the online marketplace where people can connect to buy and sell handmade and other creative goods. With 900,000 shops and 60 million unique visitors a month, Etsy is reimagining commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling, sustainable world. This, of course, is directly in line with Kiva's mission to expand opportunity to people building... Continue Reading >>

We’re excited to announce our new partnership with Assilassimé in Togo!

Very few microfinance institutions provide credit to the very poor in Togo. Assilassimé (“Hand in Hand” in Ewe, the local language) is distinguished in the Togolese microfinance landscape because it offers services only to vulnerable individuals in the Lomé area, particularly unbanked individuals, the disabled, single mothers, sex workers, people living with HIV, and widows. Kiva funding will help the organization expand its reach so it can work... Continue Reading >>

We're so thrilled to be bringing Kiva to Newark, N.J.! Starting today, we'll be offering loans to hard-working entrepreneurs in the Newark area through Kiva Zip!

Zip is Kiva's pilot project to reach new types of borrowers in the U.S. and Kenya. Through Zip, anyone can endorse a deserving borrower to qualify for and raise a 0% interest loan on Kiva. These loans are made directly via mobile money and electronic payment systems, and borrowers and lenders can correspond during the term of the loan. 

When you make a loan in Newark, you make so many great... Continue Reading >>

This is a guest post by Kimberly Davies, Program Officer, Financial Services at the Grameen Foundation.

Many industries view similar or related organizations as competitors. I’d like to think that the international development industry is unique in viewing others as collaborators. Since everyone in this industry is working toward a common goal -- poverty alleviation -- everyone is constantly looking for ways to share findings and learn from each other. Our biggest concern is reaching a common, hugely important mission. Since this desire outreaches any... Continue Reading >>

We could not be more excited to announce our very first presence in the Pacific Northwest! Oregon has joined the list of communities in the U.S. on Kiva, helping small business owners get the financing they need to grow and create jobs.

What’s more exciting is that accompanying us for the launch was none other than Oregon’s First Lady, Cylvia Hayes!



Kiva Zip will support the state’s Prosperity Initiative which aims to create a robust economy by removing barriers to overcoming poverty and empowering citizens to maximize their potential... Continue Reading >>

Our partner Strathmore University in Kenya just posted a huge batch of new loans to help students from all over Africa afford college tuition! 

We're so excited to be working with Strathmore -- one of the most prestigious private institutions on the continent -- to get young people the funding they need to succeed. Make a student loan today, and change a life in dramatic ways.

It may be summer vacation, but too many bright, qualified students in Africa need to worry about affording education. Financial aid is... Continue Reading >>

Looking to begin a career in international development or social enterprise? Join the Kiva team as an intern and gain access to an influential personal and professional network of technology, non-profit, and microfinance professionals!



Interns are essential to Kiva’s operations and its mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. There are a wide range of positions in a variety of departments where interns work closely with staff on high-impact projects in an educational and social work environment. This is no "fetching... Continue Reading >>

This spring, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced its goal to eradicate polio by 2018. National governments and global foundations immediately pledged millions of dollars to fund the program’s community health initiatives in the few countries (Nigeria, Pakistan, India) where endemic polio remains. Initially, the disease was supposed to have been eradicated by 1990, but despite a massive influx of resources from the WHO, Gates Foundation and UNICEF, campaign fatigue and lingering pockets of wild polio in hard-to-reach areas have allowed it to simmer on.
... Continue Reading >>