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Cool New Partners: Teaching code, abolishing cooksmoke and multiplying microfinance!

February 2, 2016

Here are Kiva's newest partners! Find out how they are helping low-income Brazilian entrepreneurs obtain access to capital, African households erradicate cooking smoke inside their homes and young Kenyans learn how to code.



Moringa School - Kenya



Nairobi, Kenya, has a fast-growing tech scene, much like the one seen in Silicon Valley - but talented professionals are hard to come by. Moringa School took an innovative approach and is disrupting the Kenyan technology scene in their own way. Throught Moringa's program, young Kenyans have a chance to break into the booming technology market and gain valuable coding skills. Graduates have a 100% job placement rate and an average 350% salary increase over their previous employment. Through highly trained teachers, a curated curriculum, and a partnership with Hack Reactor, a top Silicon Valley coding school, Moringa is creating the next generation of world-class developers in Africa.


Join Moringa and give a young Kenyan the chance to become a great developer here.



African Clean Energy (ACE) - Lesotho and South Africa


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A family-owned social enterprise that manufactures and sells innovative cookstoves in Lesotho, South Africa and abroad, African Clean Energy wants to erradicate deadly cook smoke from kitchens. They design highly efficient cookstoves that burn biomass smokelessly, with a solar-charged battery that features a unique USB port for charging phones and running LED lamps. ACE cookstoves are regarded as one of the highest quality cookstoves on the market, utilizing 50-70% less fuel than traditional cookstoves. The company offers the loans to groups of 10+ individuals from suburban and rural communities.


Support African Clean Energy's goal to erradicate deadly smog by funding a loan here.



Banco do Povo Crédito Solidario - Brazil



Less than 2% of Brazil's microentrepreneurs have access to credit, due to a market dominated by banks that only provide heavily subsidized loans. This leaves a market for microfinance that has huge potential but is largely untapped. Banco do Povo, a microfinance organization operating out of São Paulo, offers microfinance loans to populations with little or no access to financial services to both individuals and groups. They also offer assistance to communities and organizations interested in starting or growing their own microlending programs, gradually increasing the presence of microfinance in the country. Banco do Povo's mission is to provide affordable loans to low-income entrepreneurs, encouraging economic growth and contributing to sustainable local development.


Help Banco do Povo pursue their mission by making a loan to a low-income entrepreneur in São Paulo, Brazil, here.