The Kiva Challenge - US$1bn by 2008

What’s the goal?
To generate US$1bn in microfinance loans through Kiva by December 31, 2008.

What? Why?
Microfinance is about providing small loans to people in the developing world so they can create and grow businesses to help break the poverty cycle. Kiva is a website that connects these borrowers with people who are willing and able to lend them this money. The loans are used to purchase resources such as sewing machines, farm animals and pharmacy supplies.

The concept of microfinancing is so highly regarded, that Professor Muhummad Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the field.

US$1bn? That’s crazy! How is it possible?
It’s all about the power of a network. If I introduce 2 new people to Kiva, and they each introduce 2 people, who each in turn bring another 2 new people, the network would grow to amazing proportions. If it takes each person 2 weeks to introduce 2 new lenders, and each person took out a single loan, after a year, this would generate over 67 million new loans. At US$25 per loan, the funds generated would exceed US$1.67bn!

How do I know that my money won’t be misused?
Money loaned through Kiva goes towards helping someone to escape the poverty cycle. To date, 100% of Kiva loans have been repaid ($3m loans so far as at Feb 2007).

Once a loan is raised, Kiva passes the money onto a local partner Microfinance Institution (MFI). This MFI manages the relationship with the borrower to ensure their business is progressing well. Kiva goes screens MFIs through a due diligence process to ensure all partners are legitimate and capable of managing their loans.

In addition to this, you’ll receive photo updates via email on how your borrower is progressing with their loan.

Ok, so how do I do it?
Send us an email at kivachallenge@gmail.com and we'll send you a referral. Be part of something big!

Global Innovation Challenge on YouTube

Here is a copy of our video entry to the Global Innovation Challenge. I owe endless endless thanks to Clara for producing such an awesome video in such a short period of time. Thanks Clara! Note: the total video size is about 10Mb, so you might want to let it load for a while before playing.

What do you think? Are you willing to help us reach our target of $1bn in microfinance loans?

A revolution is coming...

We are working on a new idea which we believe will revolutionise the way people look at microfinance initiatives, and not-for-profits in general. Stay tuned, and come back in a few days for some exciting news! Alternatively use the RSS feeds provided, if you know what they are!

The Loan Cycle

A few people have been asking how the loan works. Here's a diagram from the Kiva website showing how a typical loan works.

You can click on the diagram to display a bigger version.

The Challenge

As part of the Stanford Global Innovation Challenge 2007, a team of 3 of us have taken it upon ourselves to see how much interest and awareness we can generate for the not-for-profit microfinance website, Kiva (www.kiva.org).

So what's all the fuss about?

"[Microfinance is] the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. In developing countries especially, microcredit enables very poor people to engage in self-employment projects that generate income."
-- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance

Kiva uses this idea at a personal level, and links people who want money with people who people who are willing to loan the money and help improve conditions in the developing world.

As one website describes it, Kiva is like "microfinance meets Match.com"

Sounds a bit dodgy?
It's already been covered by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and BBC to name a few.

Will I get my money back?
The best thing is, it's a loan, not a donation. The purpose is to lend people money so they can help themselves, and then repay you the loan. In fact, to date Kiva has managed to maintain a 100% payback rate.

So what are you waiting for, go and check it out! www.kiva.org
(ps. While you're here, why not leave us a comment to tell us what you think. It can be anonymous!)