Last night, nearly 1,000 people gathered in New York City to celebrate
Kiva and the hundreds of local entrepreneurs who’ve used the Kiva platform to connect directly with lenders around the world to build thriving small businesses. It was an exciting evening that brought together Kiva employees, borrowers, lenders and supporters, including former President Bill Clinton, a long time advocate of Kiva and its mission.
Kiva was co-founded by PayPal alum Premal Shah in 2005 with the mission to “connect people through lending to alleviate poverty,” and PayPal has been a strong supporter ever since. Nearly ten years later, we were pleased to be able to help celebrate the progress Kiva’s made in that effort, as well as share our mutual aspiration to provide fair, convenient and affordable access to financing, so that people everywhere can follow their dreams.
Kiva’s work has made an enormous impact. Since its founding, Kiva has enabled 1.7 million entrepreneurs to borrow more than $750 million. In increments of as little as $25, these loans have come from 1.3 million people in 180 countries. After initially focusing on international markets and creating countless opportunities for people around the world through their global network of field partners, Kiva is now making its services available to small businesses right here in the United States. For the last few years, Kiva has been building and piloting a direct, peer-to-peer lending model and rolling out the platform city-by-city. We’re excited to support the service because it provides financing for early-stage entrepreneurs, which we believe complements our own
PayPal Working Capital program and extends our support of small businesses who are at that critical stage in their development. In addition to serving as the official launch of the new service in the New York market, the event was also an opportunity to celebrate local entrepreneurs who have grown their businesses with the support of the Kiva community.
A great example is
The Base Project, an ethical fashion company that has developed a line of jewelry made by female Syrian refugees now living in Jordan. Chris Akin started the business in New York in 2012. By utilizing a $10,000 Kiva loan and payments solutions from PayPal, Chris and his team were able to create a sustainable business and have a positive impact on the world.
Last night was just the latest chapter in our close collaboration with Kiva. Every single Kiva loan has been processed by PayPal. And we’ve processed each of those transactions free of charge because we know that with every dollar that flows through Kiva, we’re enabling more people to have the opportunity to participate and thrive in the global economy. We consider our work with Kiva to be a signature part of PayPal’s global financial inclusion and participation efforts, and we’re looking forward to creating even more great impact together in the years to come.
Congratulations to Kiva on another important step in their mission, and to all of Kiva’s entrepreneurs, in New York and beyond, who are creating new opportunities for themselves and their communities.