Service Providers

Named as one of the top ideas in 2006 by the New York Times Magazine, Kiva (www.kiva.org) is enables MFIs to raise debt capital directly from social investors via the internet. Kiva provides MFIs 0% interest US dollar debt capital in exchange for client impact transparency on the internet. MFIs on-lend this capital at prevailing interest rates and keep all the interest income. Losses arising from client default are borne by Kiva?s social investor.

Since launching in October 2005, over 80 MFIs in over 40 countries have raised 0% interest debt capital from over 250,000 social investors via Kiva.org. Some of the worlds most reputable MFIs have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars within months, including MFIs affiliated with ACCION, Grameen, Unitus and Pro Mujer. Smaller, less established MFIs, also use Kiva?s online platform as a source of growth capital and a way to prove their legitimacy to larger funders over time. All MFIs benefit from significantly reducing their cost of capital and exhibiting their work and impact to an international audience (Kiva is the most trafficked website in microfinance with hundreds of thousands of site visitors each month).

Cacher