Kiva US works with groups like city governments, foundations, and others to help businesses that have been denied capital. We do this by partnering with organizations that can lend small amounts of money to these excluded businesses. This starts a movement where everyone pitches in to make their community stronger, and it makes a real, long-lasting difference.
Making financial access equitable
In the United States, access to financial resources for small businesses isn't equal. Excluded groups, such as LGBTQ+ individuals, refugees, immigrants, women, gender-nonconforming individuals, Black and African Americans, Indigenous people, and People of Color, face the greatest challenges in accessing financial support. That's where Kiva comes in.
Women
Loans to women-owned businesses are on average 31% smaller.
People of color
BIPOC-owned businesses are 3x more likely to be denied credit.
Credit invisible
26M individuals do not have enough credit history to produce a credit score.
Kiva U.S. impact
We believe in character over credit and the power of community support. Since 2011, Kiva has provided capital for entrepreneurs where conventional lenders don't.
10,288
Fully Funded Borrowers
$71,766,925
Amount Lent
72%
Entrepreneurs of Color
Kiva commitment
Kiva is committed to supporting 7,500 systemically marginalized entrepreneurs in the U.S. by 2028, totaling more than 15,000 over the course of Kiva's history.
"Especially after coming off a couple of rejections... everything about this process was very positive for us. It just made us feel good."
Despite initial hesitation about crowdfunding, 2 Girls with Curls found success with Kiva - not once, but twice. They received their first Kiva loan of $7,000 in March 2018, and three years later in March 2021, they received their second Kiva loan of $7,500. And not only did they find success, but they also found renewed confidence. They found community near and far. They found people who believed in their vision.
Support people in the U.S.
Driving success through Hubs
First, what are Kiva Hubs?
Hubs are local organizations invested in the economic inclusion for their communities, trained to support small business owners through the Kiva application process and beyond.
Through local Kiva Hubs, we're able to provide technical assistance and business support — resources that many entrepreneurs from marginalized backgrounds would not have access to otherwise — helping borrowers achieve even more in their businesses.
A Hub is responsible for the borrower pipeline and hosts a Kiva Capital Access manager (CAM) on their staff, trained by Kiva, to support local entrepreneurs.
What is a Capital Access Manager?
A Capital Access Manager (CAM) is a staff member of the Kiva Hub partner, trained extensively by Kiva on how to share the loan opportunity with entrepreneurs. The CAM also offers best practices for the application and fundraising process and builds a robust support ecosystem in their cities by activating a local lending community.
Partner with us
Apply
If your organization is interested in joining an ecosystem that fosters financial inclusion, complete the Hub interest form below. We’ll contact you to schedule a call and learn more about how we can support each other's work.
Train
Hubs identify a professional who will serve as a Capital Access Manager (CAM) in your market. The CAM will receive professional training from our Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager to learn how to operate a successful Hub by expanding access to capital in your region.Â
Launch
Work with your dedicated Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager to leverage Kiva’s turnkey lending platform and network of Capital Access Managers to launch a new Kiva Hub in your community.
Kiva Offers
Kiva US offers risk-tolerant, crowdfunded capital to underestimated entrepreneurs across the US. We offer Hubs a turnkey lending solution that includes an online application, social underwriting, convenient loan disbursals via PayPal, impact reporting, access to Kiva email and SMS, and full backend access to our loan management platform. Kiva US helps community organizations offer small businesses 0% interest, $0 fee loans without the hassle of setting up their own loan fund or managing the logistics of a loan portfolio.
Hubs Offers
Hubs pair Kiva’s risk-tolerant capital and loan management software with their own business support services, often providing financial coaching to support early stage entrepreneurs. Hubs are typically technical assistance providers, small business accelerators, incubators, or CDFI’s that want to offer an additional step in their capital ladder. Whatever form a Hub takes, all Hubs have s shared mission to help small businesses and local communities thrive.
Meet our Active Hubs
Currently Kiva has partnered with 40+ cities and is scaling rapidly.
Read more about financial inclusion for small businesses
