Kiva's New Initiative brings Microloans to U.S. Small Business in Cities of "Need"

The Kiva City program will extend small business access to microloans in U.S. cities facing the greatest small business stress. Kiva, a nonprofit organization, offers personal microlending services. Building upon Kiva's Internet-based lending model, the goal of the Kiva City program is to spur job growth and economic recovery through microfinance by building connections between Kiva's global network of 592,000 individual lenders and small business owners across the country. Kiva also intends to reach out to credit unions or other financial institutions partners at a local level to facilitate the loans and community groups and civic leaders to build awareness among small business owners and refer them to the program. Kiva.org, in partnership with Visa Inc., will administer the program. Read the press release...

Kiva Detroit, a partnership between Kiva and the Michigan Corps, is currently operating as the first Kiva City program recipient. According to Anuja Jaitly, co-founder and executive director of Michigan Corps, Detroit already has established a strong network of lenders and small businesses by leveraging community engagement. "Through local networking events, church gatherings, and neighborhood BBQs, we have built an engaged community of small business owners and lenders alike. Detroit is proud to be the pioneer of the Kiva City model." said Jaitly. Visit Kiva Detroit's website...

Detroit was among the 10 regions that experienced the greatest losses of small businesses, according to the Kiva and Visa Study of Small Business Trouble Spots. The report looks at small business trends in the 50 largest metropolitan areas to identify the degree of economic stress faced by small businesses. According to the report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, 40 percent of the nation's largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) have lost at least one percent of their small businesses from 2006 to 2008. This represents approximately 15,000 businesses. Other MSAs facing significant losses of small business include Cleveland, Miami, Providence and Milwaukee. Read the report...