Kiva, a non-profit organization specializing in microloans, recently announced its newest program, Kiva City. Kiva City aims to expand the awareness and availability of microloans in the United States in order to help small businesses grow. They will focus on bringing microloans to areas of the United States where small business owners are struggling the most due to harsh economic conditions.
Since 2005, Kiva has relied on over 600,000 individual lenders to donate over $230 million in microloans to small businesses across the world. With the launch of Kiva City, Kiva hopes to bring the global success of the organization to urban centers in the US to fight poverty and grow small businesses and fund entrepreneurial initiatives.
Kiva Detroit became the first ever Kiva City in late June, 2011. Microloans made to Kiva Detroit have already helped numerous small businesses, including a publisher of a street newspaper aimed at helping homeless and at risk members of the community learn about entrepreneurism and employment and a local student making bike trailers designed to help people carry groceries, which will eventually create jobs for other local high school students.
Clarity Quest has been an active Kiva member since 2007. In that time, Clarity Quest has made over 40 separate microloans to small businesses and entrepreneurs around the world. Are you thinking about making a microloan through Kiva? Ask us about our experience!
