Today, we celebrate something extraordinary: two decades of people coming together to fund possibility.
In 2005, Kiva launched with a radical idea: what if everyday people could help fund the dreams of others around the world, directly, with as little as $25? Since then, over 2 million lenders have done exactly that, funding over $2.4 billion in loans and creating ripple effects of opportunity across more than 90 countries.
Over 20 years, over 5 million people have received the funding they needed, thanks to 2 million people contributing $25 at a time.
Because of you, someone started a business. Sent their kids to school. Rebuilt after a disaster. Grew food for their neighbors. Hired their first employee. And because of you, they’ll keep going.
Today, on our 20th anniversary, we celebrate you — our global community of lenders, borrowers, volunteers, and partners who’ve helped fund over $2.4 billion in loans, unlocking opportunity in over 90 countries.
Here are just a few stories that represent the 5.6 million people who have received funding through Kiva.
Meet Pamela, Kenya
Pamela started a small jewelry business in Kibera — and turned it into a community lifeline. With a Kiva loan, she expanded her shop and now donates half of her profits to support local women starting their own businesses. She counsels over 40 women and serves as a Kiva trustee, helping others access the same opportunity that transformed her life. Her success shows what’s possible when funding meets purpose.
Meet Aref, Colombia
Aref arrived in the U.S. as a refugee and found his future in the heart of San Francisco. With help from the Kiva community, he transformed a neglected space into Z Zoul Cafe, a warm, welcoming hub for Sudanese cuisine and cross-cultural connection. Every plate he serves is prepared with love by Aref and his wife, Dalia, as they raise their young son and rebuild their life. “Whatever we present, we present it as though we are presenting it to our family,” he says.
Meet Elizabeth, Costa Rica
When Elizabeth emigrated from Nicaragua, she brought her passion for beauty and her determination to build a better life for her family. With a Kiva loan, she upgraded her home salon with professional products, attracting new clients and growing her income. Today, she supports her household while setting a powerful example for her daughter: that women are strong, capable, and unstoppable. Her dream? To open a full-service salon that gives every client the care they deserve.
Over the past 20 years, Kiva has transformed from a small experiment in microfinance to a global movement of collective action. Along the way, we’ve stood with women denied financial access, with refugees building new lives, with farmers facing climate shocks, and with entrepreneurs who just needed someone to believe in them.
You provided the capital. They drove the change.
And we’re just getting started.
As we look ahead to the next 20 years, we’re committed to doubling our impact in half the time. Because financial access isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. A beginning that unlocks jobs, education, resilience, and hope.
So today, we raise our hands, our hearts, and our voices in celebration. Not just of Kiva, but of the movement you made possible. Thank you for standing with borrowers. Thank you for fueling their journeys. Thank you for twenty years of lending with love.
Here’s to the next twenty years of solving what others say can’t be solved.
Because the world’s problems are not unsolved. They’re just waiting for us to fund them, together.
