Microfinance for the Masses: ACCION USA Announces Partnership wtih Kiva.org
I’m not good at keeping secrets. That’s why I’m so excited to share a huge piece of ACCION USA news that we’ve had to keep quiet until now. ACCION USA been chosen as one of two field partners to join Kiva.org, the world’s first person-to-person microlending Website, in its pilot expansion to the United States.
Lenders from around the world can now lend online to entrepreneurs in the United States for a financial commitment as small as $25. ACCION USA’s 15 borrowers are already getting “funded” fast, and we’ll be adding new borrowers to the site everyday.
Kiva is an organization that’s truly bringing microfinance to Main Street, and as a leading U.S. microlender, ACCION USA is thrilled to be part of the pilot program. Kiva’s 500,000 lenders provide microfinance institutions (MFIs) like ACCION USA with capital at zero cost and zero risk, decreasing cost to the MFI and expanding the amount of dollars available to small businesses shut out of the financial mainstream.
The news broke at 8:30 this morning on a Good Morning America segment featuring Kiva’s president Premal Shah—we’re confident that many of America’s 10 million microbusinesses now know that microloan resources are available to help their operations grow.
ACCION USA is encouraging supporters to get involved with Kiva by making a loan to an ACCION USA borrower, donating directly to ACCION USA to help support Kiva-related lending activities, and learning more on our Website.
We’ll keep you updated on the launch and partnership this week—there will certainly be more news to share. But for now, there’s $25 burning a hole in my pocket and a few small business owners who could use it on Kiva.org…
Tags: good morning america, kiva, launch, premal shah