The Kiva story is the story of a non-profit organization which has achieved astonishing results despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Kiva is a microlender. The 3 minute video below explains a bit about microlending, Kiva and how microlender is changing our world one entrepreneur at a time.

Kiva was founded by Matt and Jessica Flannery with a goal to enable people to make microloans to entrepreneurs around the world, Kiva launched in 2005.

Where did they find their initial donors? They sent an e-mail to their wedding invitation list, told them what they wanted to do and asked for money. The results by the end of the weekend? Seven businesses were funded in Uganda from that initial $3,500.

What has Kiva done since? Wiped out every “obstacle” it its path on the way to changing countless lives. Here are a few stats for you; more interesting reading on the Kiva site:

Total value of all loans made through Kiva: $215,457,900
Kiva Users who have funded a loan: 585,780
Entrepreneurs that have received a loan through Kiva: 557,930
Percentage of Kiva loans to women entrepreneurs: 81.30%
Average loan size: $382.55
Current repayment rate: 98.75%

450 volunteers help Kiva fulfill its mission. To date, people from 213 countries have participated in this microlending program; they are charged a small fee to do it and pay no interest.

As you can appreciate, Kiva is changing lives.

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.” Cesar Chavez

Here are a few points that we can learn from Kiva to apply to our businesses.

1. They asked for help from friends and family. Kiva’s initial request was an e-mail sent to Matt and Jessica’s wedding invitation list. How about your list? Who do you have on your wedding invitation list, Christmas card list or party list?

2. Kiva developed relationships. In addition to the 450 volunteers already mentioned, Kiva relies on individuals and businesses to fulfill its mission. One of Kiva’s strategic alliances is with PayPal who processes the transactions for free.

3. Matt and Jessica, leveraged “free” – from the initial e-mail to social media to its business online. Anyone can leverage free resources.

4. Matt and Jessica ignored those who said it couldn’t be done because of the many obstacles in the way.

Are you familiar with Kiva?

Have any questions or stories you would like to share?