Updated on June 30, 2024

·

Created on September 13, 2017

Kiva

Open-source

Kiva is a non profit that is attempting to enable access to lending by crowd funding loans.

Developed By
  1. Kiva
Tested By
  • Kiva
Content Partners
Unknown

Product Description

Kiva provides micro-loans directly or through partners to enable low income individuals access to capital that they would not otherwise have.

Kiva is a 501(c)3 U.S. nonprofit

Target SDGs

SDG 1: No Poverty

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

- Kiva - Field Partners

Regions

Worldwide

Manufacturing/Building Method

A large amount of Kiva is open source and is published on GitHub.

They also have a blog for their build/engineering team.

Intellectural Property Type

Open-source

User Provision Model

Borrower's can sign up directly on Kiva's site or through field partners in their local region.

Lender's can find a project or borrower and sign up on the Kiva site.

Distributions to Date Status

From their impact page:

- 2.9 million borrowers

- 1.7 million lenders

Telecommunication service required

Mobile or fixed internet

Level of connection service needed

2G required

Device(s) required

Smartphone, computer, or tablet

Permanent network connectivity required (Y/N)

No

Additonal features required

None

Two way communication (Y/N)

Yes

Usage rate (%)

97.0%

Literacy support (Y(specify) / N)

No

Languages available (list)

English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish

Operating system and version (Android, IOs, Windows, or other [specify])

This is a web application, so any OS that supports a modern browser.

Open source data (Y /N/ Other)

Yes, Data exports or API access

Data import/export formats

JSON or CSV

Power requirements

Occasional power required by end user

eFinance application

Micro-finance/micro lending and crowd funding

Design Specifications

Kiva attempts to be very transparent. They have a detailed page on the loan process as well as their financials.

Their technology platform is a combination of open source and licensed software. Siftery has detailed information about the technology they utilize.

They publish detailed information on their API and how to integrate it into your application.

Kiva labs attempts solve global issues by funding risky ideas to tackle issues that are impacting undeserved populations.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Technical support is provided by Kiva.

Replacement Components

N/A

Lifecycle

N/A

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

From Kiva's about page:

"Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 and based in San Francisco, with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities."

Vetted Performance Status

From Kiva's impact page: - $1 billion dollars in loans - 2.5 million borrowers - 1.6 million lenders - 84 countries - 81% of borrowers are women

Safety

Not applicable

Complementary Technical Systems

Statistical analysis software (Stata, R, etc.)

Academic Research and References

Gajjala V, Gajjala R, Birzescu A, Anarbaeva S. Microfinance in online space: a visual analysis of kiva.org. Development in Practice. 2011;21(6):880–893.

Choo J, Lee C, Lee D, Zha H, Park H. Understanding and promoting micro-finance activities in Kiva.org. Proceedings of the 7th ACM international conference on Web search and data mining – WSDM 14. 2014.

Liu Y, Chen R, Chen Y, Mei Q, Salib S. “I loan because…”. Proceedings of the fifth ACM international conference on Web search and data mining – WSDM 12. 2012.

Hartley SE. Kiva.org: Crowd-Sourced Microfinance and Cooperation in Group Lending. SSRN Electronic Journal. 2010.

Megan Moodie, Microfinance and the Gender of Risk: The Case of Kiva.org, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 38, no. 2 (Winter 2013): 279-302.

Schwittay AF. Making Poverty Into A Financial Problem: From Global Poverty Lines To Kiva.org. Journal of International Development. 2013;26(4):508–519.

“Where Does Kiva Work?” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/about/where-kiva-works

“Finances.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/about/finances

“Find Answers at the Kiva Help Center.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/help

“Kickstarter.” n.d. Kickstarter. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kickstarter.com/

“Crowdfund Innovations & Support Entrepreneurs.” n.d. Indiegogo. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.indiegogo.com/

“Goal 1.” n.d. Sdgs.Un.Org. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal1

“Goal 10.” n.d. Sdgs.Un.Org. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal10

Kiva. n.d. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://github.com/kiva

“Apply for a Kiva US Loan.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/borrow/Kiva

“Kiva – Loans That Change Lives.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/lend/filter

“How Does Kiva Work?” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/about/how

“Kiva Labs: Social Enterprises.” n.d. Kiva Labs: Social Enterprises. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.labs.kiva.org

“Home.” n.d. Kiva.Org. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://help.kiva.org/s/

“Learn More about Kiva’s Mission.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/about

“Kiva – Loans That Change Lives.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/legal/terms

“Privacy Policy.” n.d. Kiva. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://www.kiva.org/legal/privacy

Compliance with regulations

According to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Kiva is in compliance with all local laws and regulations.

Evaluation methods

Field trials

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