Kiva

Kiva
Public domain · source
Name	Kiva
Type	Nonprofit organization
Founded	2005
Founder	Matt Flannery; Jessica Jackley
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Mission	Expand financial access to underserved populations

Kiva

Kiva is a nonprofit organization that facilitates microloans to entrepreneurs and small businesses in low-income regions through an online lending platform. It connects individual lenders with field partners and utilizes crowdfunding, partner guarantees, and technology to route capital to borrowers in countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America. The organization operates within a global ecosystem that includes nongovernmental organizations, impact investors, development agencies, and fintech firms.

Overview

Kiva operates as an online lending marketplace linking individual lenders with field partners such as Grameen Bank, BancoSol, Accion International, BRAC, and Opportunity International. Its platform aggregates loan listings from microfinance institutions, community development organizations, credit unions like Self-Help Credit Union, and peer-to-peer groups modeled after Rotating saving and credit association traditions. Kiva’s model interfaces with regulatory frameworks in jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom, Kenya, Philippines, and Bolivia and interacts with standards advanced by institutions like the World Bank, International Labour Organization, and United Nations Development Programme.

History

Founded in 2005 by Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley following ideas circulating at events like BarCamp and supported by early advisers from Silicon Valley, the organization launched initial pilot programs that partnered with microfinance pioneers such as Muhammad Yunus and institutions influenced by the Grameen model. Early funding and visibility drew on networks tied to Y Combinator, philanthropies including Gates Foundation and Skoll Foundation, and media coverage from outlets like The New York Times and Forbes. Over time Kiva expanded its roster of field partners to include NGOs inspired by movements led by figures such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Muhammad Yunus, and adapted to criticism and regulatory shifts influenced by reports from ProPublica and analyses from research centers like Brookings Institution.

Operations and Business Model

Kiva sources loan listings from field partners that perform due diligence, borrower selection, and local loan servicing—partners include FINCA International, Mercy Corps, Heifer International, and credit cooperatives in countries such as Peru and Uganda. Individual lenders on the platform choose listings and make loans; capital is pooled and disbursed through partner institutions that manage currency risk and repayment collection, drawing on mechanisms used by organizations such as MicroRate for credit assessment and metrics from B Lab-affiliated entities. Kiva sustains operations through donations, optional lender fees, grants from foundations like the Ford Foundation, and programmatic partnerships with development finance institutions such as the African Development Bank.

Impact and Criticism

Evaluations of outcomes reference studies by researchers at Harvard University, MIT, Columbia University, and policy analyses from Center for Global Development that examine income effects, female entrepreneurship, and repayment behavior. Impact claims are compared to metrics used by Randomized controlled trial literature and critiques highlighted by investigative reporting from The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal. Criticism has focused on interest rate transparency when intermediaries like commercial microfinance banks are involved, risks of over-indebtedness noted by scholars affiliated with University of Oxford, and the degree to which loans substitute for grants as debated at forums such as the World Economic Forum.

Governance and Funding

Kiva’s governance includes a board of directors and advisory committees with leaders from nonprofits, finance, and technology sectors, echoing governance models seen at organizations like Ashoka, CARE International, and Oxfam. Funding sources comprise philanthropic grants from entities such as Rockefeller Foundation and program-related investments from development finance institutions including IFC and national agencies like USAID. Internal controls and auditing practices draw on standards promulgated by accounting firms serving nonprofits and sector watchdogs such as GuideStar and Charity Navigator.

Technology and Partnerships

The platform integrates web and mobile technologies, partnerships with payments processors similar to Stripe, and identity-verification tools akin to services offered by Equifax and Dun & Bradstreet in certain markets. Kiva has collaborated with fintech startups, blockchain pilot projects referenced in conferences like Consensus (conference), and data partners for impact measurement such as teams at DataKind and academic labs at Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Technology partnerships extend to logistics and CRM systems used by partners like Salesforce for field partner coordination.

Regional Programs and Case Studies

Regional programs highlight adaptations in contexts like Kenya—working with mobile money networks similar to M-Pesa—and in Philippines where partnerships mirror models used by CARD Bank. Case studies reference collaborations in Peru with rural cooperatives, in Rwanda with agricultural cooperatives influenced by initiatives from Heifer International, and in Honduras with women’s savings groups modeled after projects supported by USAID and Inter-American Development Bank. Evaluations by regional development centers, such as African Development Bank country teams and Asian Development Bank reports, illustrate variations in credit terms, borrower outcomes, and sectoral impact across microenterprise, agriculture, and services.

Category:Microfinance organizations Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States