We went into 2020 with a great plan—the chessboard was laid out, and we knew our next 30 moves. Then COVID-19 hit, and every piece on the chessboard moved. With your unwavering support, we were able to pivot our plans to make a difference in this new reality.
- We quickly ramped up our U.S. lending program – extending credit limits, offering grace periods, and increasing the maximum loan amount. Kiva loans to U.S. small businesses grew by 80% in 2020.
- Then we launched our COVID-19 Response Fund to support borrowers worldwide. More than 480,010 lenders lent $115,701,500 to 265,660 borrowers. When our Field Partners also needed support to survive the pandemic, we provided $7.7M in crisis support loans.
- We’ve been scaling Kiva’s platform for institutional investors with Kiva Capital Management — this year it secured over $25 million to support communities overseas that have been impacted by COVID-19. It has also been working on securing funding for investments in support of refugees and women. This work also played a role in launching the California Rebuilding Fund, a public-private sector partnership to provide small businesses in California access to responsible, affordable loans as they navigate the COVID-19 crisis.
- Our innovation with Kiva Protocol continued in Sierra Leone, where we’re providing digital identification infrastructure to make financial inclusion more attainable. We were awarded the World Bank’s 2020 Mission Billion Competition Global Prize for this project.
Despite this challenging time, Kivans have been inspired and motivated. It has been a joy to witness Kiva’s new initiatives come to life this year.
Cheers to another year of changing lives together.
Neville Crawley
CEO of Kiva
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