Kiva is an international nonprofit organization focused on creating a financially inclusive world. According to Kiva’s website, “more than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need,” which includes about an eighth of the world’s population. Kiva works with underprivileged people who are not able to afford to start or continue their own businesses and lets people from all over the world participate in giving temporary loans.
Often, those who come from underfunded communities do not have access to taking out bank loans due to a lack thereof or an unfit credit history: Kiva allows people from all over the world to partake in the development of these businesses simply by donating a minimum of twenty-five dollars to any cause of your choice.
The website organizes these businesses by categories, which include Arts, Health, Education, etc, as well as by region, which hosts a variety of different countries and continents. Kiva also has a section dedicated to businesses founded in the United States, bringing a locality to the website. There are several local individuals seeking help, for example, Salimata in Dorchester who needs help funding her West-African food and ginger drink company so that she can hire a production manager in hopes of growing her sales.
To begin this process, you must first find a cause that you are interested in helping, whether it be helping a farmer in Honduras buy fertilizer or helping a teacher in Vietnam buy supplies for her students (amongst thousands of others).
Once you have chosen your cause, the next step is to lend your money, however much you are willing to spend, through CrediCampo, a microfinance institution, and one of Kiva’s lending partners: every business provided on this website is approved by CrediCampo.
Once the business receives the total amount of their goal, they then receive 100% of the funds and are able to invest it into their businesses. When there becomes a profit, investors are repaid however much they have sent and are then able to use that towards another business, or to keep. The company’s repayment rate is at 96.4%, which is higher than most bank repayments, and goes directly back to the investor, meaning, you will get your twenty five dollars back once the person or business makes that money.
It is important to note that this is an investment and there is always a risk of repayment becoming an issue: there is always a chance that you may not receive every cent back, regardless of the high repayment rate. Kiva suggests supporting various businesses because of this, for example, donating twenty five dollars to four businesses as opposed to one hundred to one. These types of financial decisions are something to really educate yourself on before you go all in and it is important to weigh those options ahead of time.
I learned about this organization through a college course, from a professor who has donated and received this money, however it is up to yourself as an individual to invest or not. There are so many people around the world who need this sort of financial aid and Kiva is an amazing way to give support to them and uplift underprivileged individuals.