There’s no way to sugarcoat it: 2016 has been an emotionally exhausting and, at times, devastating year. With violence and conflict constantly making headlines, the passing of several artistic legends and a bitter, divisive election in the U.S., the countdown to 2017 seemed to kick off midsummer.
But 2016 was also full of hopeful, small acts of kindness between families, neighbors and even strangers, that reaffirmed love and empathy can persevere through the most difficult times. We saw this on display every day in 2016 through the Kiva community.
Hundreds of thousands of borrowers (351,465 to be exact) around the world shared their dreams for a better future for their families, and lenders responded by funding $133 million in loans to help those families take their next steps.
Kiva also celebrated a momentous milestone– 10 years of impact, made possible by the generosity of 1.6 million lenders from 192 countries. That’s truly an international movement of people who believe in lifting each other up as a global community.
Because of the hard work of the Kiva team and the Kiva community in 2016 we are more prepared than ever to grow this movement, confront economic inequality, and continue to create opportunity. We launched our newly redesigned website to enable even more impact, and united Kiva’s work in developing countries and the work we do with socially impactful and financially excluded borrowers in the U.S.
Check out more of the highlights from around the Kiva community in 2016:
Kiva lenders responded to the refugee crisis this year by backing loans to refugees and internally displaced people living in Lebanon, Azerbaijan and Colombia, among other countries. Loans to refugees and displaced populations can be costly to administer and risky, given the instability of living conditions, but the Kiva community’s willingness to support these loans enabled us to continue to grow the program and look for innovative solutions that support both host communities and refugees.
This year also marked a joyous occasion in West Africa. After 2 years of working with our Field Partners in Sierra Leone and Liberia to recover from the effects of the Ebola crisis, Kiva was able to bring loans from these countries back online for fundraising. The Ebola outbreak not only threatened the lives of many people, it also affected small businesses on a large scale. As Ceejay, a Kiva fellow working on the ground noted, “The police required everyone to stop selling, which included restaurants and food stalls.”
We are overjoyed that the crisis has come to a close in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and we are proud that Kiva lenders can now help businesses in these countries move forward.
So many Kiva borrowers’ stories touched us deeply this year, including Lindiwe. At just 22, she’s an entrepreneur, a businesswoman, and a role model encouraging young girls to stay in school and work hard to achieve what they want in life. In her small village in rural Zimbabwe, she runs 3 businesses, including a homemade juice and soda business.
With help from Kiva’s Field Partner, Camfed, Lindiwe took out a $500 loan crowdfunded on Kiva by 11 lenders and grew her business, enabling her to create her first savings account. Now she mentors other young women in her community and plans to use the remainder of her profits to expand production.
One of the many behind-the-scenes projects that lifted our spirits this year was an engineering initiative to improve our volunteer translation platform, used by the more than 475 volunteers who review and translate every loan you see on Kiva. In 2016, they reviewed about 15 million words and translated 6 million words from Spanish, French, Russian and Portuguese to English. The improvements to the platform will help us recruit more volunteers and reach more borrowers in the years to come.
Our dedicated volunteer community is a constant source of inspiration. More than 45 fellows and 95 interns showed their commitment to a more equitable world in 2016 by donating their time, creativity and passion to Kiva.
This year, more than 1,000 Kiva lenders funded a loan to help smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya get the profit they deserve from their specialty coffees. The $50,000 loan was crowdfunded for Vava Coffee, a Fair Trade Certified social enterprise founded by Vava (pictured here), that links smallholder coffee farmers to markets that seek out ethically sourced, traceable microlot coffees. Through this model, Vava Coffee provides a sustainable livelihood for their farmers.
Vava Coffee has worked with 30,000 farmers since 2009, paid them 57 percent above market price, and increased their income by up to 16 times. With the help of generous Kiva lenders, they were able to reach many more farmers. Vava Coffee will continue to grow their impact, and they aim to help 130,000 farmers by 2018!
Women borrowers across Kiva made their mark this year, for their families and their communities. Natasha, owner of Halmoni boutique in Oakland, created a space and brand that promotes body positivity and self-love for plus sized women. Since opening its doors in 2011, Halmoni has become a hub for fashionistas, artists, and creatives interested in vintage culture, while bringing together the Oakland community.
In order to grow her business, Natasha took out a Kiva loan of $3,000, which allowed her to hire part time staff and build the online store version of Halmoni. Thanks to the 41 Kiva lenders who powered this loan, Natasha can build her company and continue to spread her message of self acceptance and love.
Our year at Kiva has been filled with amazing leaps forward in expansion too — we’ve launched 28 new partners, in countries like Tanzania, Thailand and Peru.
We also saw our biggest day of lending ever on International Women’s Day as lenders around the world rallied to support women and girls and their aspirations as students and entrepreneurs. Our week long International Women’s Day campaign served 14,221 borrowers with $4,496,275 in loans!
And in addition to 10 years of impact, Kiva also surpassed a major milestone in 2016 — more than 2 million people have received loans from Kiva lenders around the world. To put this number in perspective, that means more people have received Kiva loans than live in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco combined.
If you picture all the connections made between lenders and those 2 million borrowers as threads –crossing borders, oceans, mountain ranges– you will see a world encircled by empathy and respect. That’s why we’re so excited to continue this work in 2017. Will you join us?
