Thursday, May 3, 2012

How Kiva reaches the world's poorest borrowers [WEBINAR]

This morning, we hosted the second of a series of webinars about how Kiva is evolving to give both borrowers and lenders more choices [check out the recording below].

One of the ways we're doing this is by awarding our Field Partners Social Performance badges for offering beneficial services beyond loans, like literacy training, nutrition programs, savings accounts and more. Now you can search for loans associated with these other services by clicking the "Advanced" link on the Lend page and sorting by Social Performance badge.



Today's webinar focused on the three badges we give partners who support Kiva's poorest, most vulnerable borrowers -- the Anti-Poverty, Vulnerable Groups and Client Voice badges. Field Partners with these badges offer a range of products and programs to represent the interests of borrowers who suffer from chronic diseases like HIV/AIDS, who have been historically discriminated against, who are geographically isolated, who live on less than $2 a day, and others. The Client Voice Badge, in particular, designates partners who go the extra mile to listen to clients' feedback and respond to better serve their needs.

We're excited to be working with partners that maximize the impact of microfinance, and we want to give our lenders the opportunity to do the same. Our webinars are designed to educate our community about where their loan dollars go and what they can do in the world. They also give you, our lenders, the chance to connect with Kiva staff to ask questions and learn more.

Our next webinar, on Friday, May 11 at 3 p.m., will take a closer look at Kiva's partnerships and loan products that empower women in developing countries, and how lending to women sends a positive ripple effect through families, communities, and the world.

May 3 Webinar: How Kiva reaches the world's poorest borrowers
Featuring JD Bergeron, Director of Social Performance

A BrightTALK Channel

Our last webinar focused on how Kiva is changing the way it partners with other organizations to reach new types of borrowers. Watch the recording here.

Have questions? Send them our way at blog@kiva.org.