Kiva Microloans Reach $200 Million For Small Business Loan
The online microlender Kiva has said that it's microloans to poor entrepreneurs around the world have surpassed $200 million for the first time, which represents a doubling of its loan volume in just 12 months. Kiva was founded in 2005, and makes microloans on behalf of donors who make small loans through the Kiva.org website.
Kiva has introduced a program over the past year that allows donors to make microloans to American entrepreneurs as well as to those in the developing world. In addition, it has added a new program to make student loans to people in the developing world. Kiva has taken on a number of ambitious corporate partnerships over the past year, including one with Dermalogica called joinFITE, which funds women-owned businesses and one with Visa to expand opportunities for American small business. Over 570,000 people worldwide have made a loan through Kiva since its inception, supporting almost 531,000 entrepreneurs and students in 59 countries.