by Kim Izar and Gabby Vasquez
“Connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty.”
These words serve as Kiva’s mission statement, but in the few weeks that we have been here, one word continues to stand out: connect.
It is still surreal to think of all the incredible people with whom we have collaborated and the opportunities we have been given in such a short amount of time. By connecting with Kiva’s passionate employees, Fellows and interns, it would be an understatement to say we are two very fortunate Huskies. That being said, we believe that the truest connection has been with Kiva’s work, reaffirming our belief that a hand up rather than a handout creates the largest social impact for the world’s poor.
And now, it’s time to connect you, the Northeastern community, to what we believe is a pretty (by pretty, we mean very) cool co-op.
10:00 AM: The beginning of our work day. Located in the heart of San Francisco, Kiva’s office neighbors an impressive collection of startups, chic restaurants, and popular cafes. Although a well-established organization, the office ambiance oozes a creative startup vibe.
While Gabby is answering questions from Kiva’s lender community as the community support intern, Kim is pitching to reporters and tracking industry trends as the public relations intern. No matter the task, we are both driven by an unsettling statistic: 2.5 billion people still lack access to formal financial services. Our hope and belief is that Kiva can help to shrink that number.
Kiva.org is the world’s first and largest crowdfunding platform that allows anyone around the world to make a $25 loan to a borrower in need. As the borrower successfully repays the loan, lenders can choose to relend their $25 to another aspiring entrepreneur or withdraw their money. To date, this cycle of lending has impacted over 1.4 million borrowers in 85 countries.
12:00 PM: As Kiva interns, we are fortunate to hear from some of the world’s most prominent organizations and leaders. During our first week, Premal Shah, CEO/President of Kiva, walked us through his journey with the organization and genuinely opened up about Kiva’s mission, challenges, and future.
Today, we tuned in to a non-profit speaker from LinkedIn who helped us navigate building a rockstar LinkedIn profile. It was valuable information for a crowd of future and recent college graduates.
1:00 PM: Following the session, we, along with a few other interns, made our way down the block to get our weekly dose of San Francisco food trucks. One of the best parts of this co-op experience thus far has definitely been growing with our intern class. These individuals are some of the most compassionate young adults from all walks of life – a Grameen Bank volunteer, a non profit co-founder, and an award-winning news anchor. Just to name a few.
2:00 PM – 5:30 PM: The rest of our day is filled with team meetings, intense emailing in the hammock room (see photo), lots of coffee, and inspirational small talk. Kiva has a tremendous work-life balance imbued in every aspect of the organization. This has a powerful impact on how we all interact with one another. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been there for five days or five years: Kiva does a great job at making you feel part of a family.
The social enterprise field is constantly evolving, and as Kiva gears up for their 10-year anniversary, we are excited and honored to be part of such an exciting time. The spirit and strength of the organization is one we hope to help fuel during these next few months as co-ops.
