Kiva Business 4 Business Community

SPOTLIGHT ON: Batch Blue supports Kiva...

2008-07-01T06:06:16Z

I've been stumbling across small businesses that are promoting their support of Kiva. All along, we believed that KivaB4B would be an opportunity for Advanta to provide tools for small businesses to promote their support of Kiva...aka, cause related marketing is not just for the big boys.

This blog is a great place to showcase small businesses that are not only supporting Kiva, but supporting worthy causes in creative and unusual ways. So here it is...the official call out...if you know of a small business (and we mean small) that is worthy of the spotlight, let us know and we'll sing their praises to the world.

Batch Blue provides user-friendly software for small business. Go BatchBlue for holding Kiva up...(as well as a bunch of other cool nonprofits). On their blog, they say:

"When Pam and I had our first meetings way back in the winter of 2006, even before we had fully fleshed out what our first product was going to be, we talked about what causes we were going to support as a company and in what ways. As a team, we decided that the issues closest to our hearts were promoting technology and education, improving the lives of children, and supporting fellow entrepreneurs."

Me likes. And...to be perfectly honest, that kind of spirit makes me want to try their product.

Darren Sudman talkin' 'bout KivaB4B in the news...we're so proud

2008-06-24T05:11:41Z

That's Darren in the newsroom of Comcast Newsmakers. If I were his momma, I'd frame the picture and say to all my friends, "Doesn't he look so handsome!? I'm so proud of him."

And so are we. Darren actually speaks very articulately and sincerely about the project. When faced with the question, "Can we end global poverty with this project," I cringed...was he going to slip into corporate gobbly gook speak??? Of course not! Darren is the REAL DEAL. This is a piece of the big puzzle...how we help others in far away places.

Nice job Darren.

Harry Potter, Imagination and Kiva Loans

2008-06-22T05:36:48Z

J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, recently gave a great commencement speech at Harvard. In her speech, the second of her two primary themes was the power of imagination. She said, "Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared." Making loans to individuals through Kiva actually feeds that part of our imagination...it offers a unique perspective into lives that we will likely never know "in reality

Guerilla Marketing Meets Cause Related Marketing

2008-06-19T05:11:06Z

Jama Software asked themselves a typical business question:

"Where should we invest our marketing budget to create awareness and generate leads for our product in the most cost-effective way?"

The answer they came up with was to get rid of Google Adwords and use the money instead to fund Kiva loans. Why? They explain:

"So, the experiment is to see if we can raise enough awareness and trials through this indirect pr channel to replace the paid search ads on Google - If we can, we'll make it a permanent switch...

We call it the "You Try. We Give. Program." The more people that learn about Jama Software and do a free trial of Contour, the more new customers we sign on. The more our business grows, the more loans we're able to give to Kiva entrepreneurs."

ReadWriteWeb found the post on Jama's Blog...so it seems to be working already.

This is just a great example of how a small business can creatively deploy a cause related marketing program with a nonprofit like Kiva.

Accion International comes to Chicago

2008-06-16T14:22:36Z

The Kiva Launch Party Video

2008-06-13T03:41:22Z

It's amazing that it's already been a couple of months since the official launch party for KivaB4B. This video is short and sweet, but gives a real flavor of the event which seemed to find a balance between shwanky and home grown. I suppose it was the friends who were visiting from a bunch of different countries and the DJ spinning tribal electronica. Check it out.

Speaking about Microcredit - The language of Harmony

2008-06-11T21:03:41Z

For those of you have never been to a music festival in Northern California, it's hard to put it into words. You have the chance to meet unique people named, 'Noodle,' 'Crystal Head' and 'Bike Hugger.' You may even have a chance to take a 'Hippie Bath,' which I learned is a head to toe spritzing of, in my case, lavender scented holy water. If you are trying to set up a booth, don't depend on finding things very easily. There are good intentions and then there's good organization...and perhaps the two don't always go together.

That said, it was a fascinating experience and we learned a lot about how people respond to microcredit, in general, and Kiva and KivaB4B, in particular.

Our first takeaway was that people love Kiva...see my post 'To Know Kiva is to Love Kiva.' Talking about KivaB4B and the co-branded card was easy with this group.

However, it wasn't as easy to bridge the gap between some of the other groups we encountered. For example:

There were many folks who had heard of Kiva...they would say something like, "oh, yeah...I remember Kiva. I heard about them on Oprah."
Then, there were those who had heard of micro credit, but not Kiva.
Finally, there were those who hadn't heard of either, but were pulled in by the 'helping entrepreneurs' message.

Talking about microcredit and Kiva was easy. We could actually invite people into the experience. However, finding a way to take that step to the credit card will take some creative thinking.

Nancy Price: modern-day armchair lender

2008-06-11T17:25:42Z

Why I love Kiva & Advanta

2008-06-09T13:16:17Z

I first heard of micro loans years ago when the Grameen Bank began their innovative program of helping small entrepreneurs in the Third World, and I thought it was a brilliant concept. Then more recently, when I learned about Kiva, I thought that it was one of the very best ideas I had ever heard of, and I realized that it is a great opportunity for me, as just one person, to be able to help in a meaningful way. I was really inspired and immediately picked four women to receive my loans.

It is such a great feeling to know that I can participate directly in the Kiva/Advanta partnership, so that a small loan I give to a Third World entrepreneur can make a big difference in her life and help her advance her business and result in financial security for her and her family.

Poverty is the root cause of much of the world's problems - wars, disease, hopelessness, environmental damage, crime, drug trafficking and more. Now, because of the brilliant partnership between Kiva and Advanta, ordinary people who want to do something meaningful can take direct action.

I hope that when millions of people in the developed world learn about the Kiva B4B Community, they will realize what a powerful force for positive change it truly is, and they will get involved.

I was glad to be invited to Philadelphia to participate in the launch of the B4B program and meet Senerita, one of the women whose small business I had made a loan to. In fact, I was so inspired from that experience that I added another four loans to my list.

I focus on lending to women because when you help women, you automatically help their children, and also because women in Third World countries usually have the least amount of personal power, and building their own business can help change that.

I hope many people will read about Senerita, watch some of the video that Erick took and displays in other parts of this blog, and then go to www.kiva.org and start making some micro loans! -- Karil Daniels

To know Kiva is to love Kiva

2008-06-07T23:17:16Z

At the super groovy Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa spreading the KivaB4B gospel. Although we are not the typical booth here, we 're enjoying the Native American flutes, the thumping electronica and the Aboriginal didgeridoos...although all three at the same time from all directions can be a bit unsettling. Perhaps it's the enthusiasm of the crowd or maybe the inevitable contact high, but there's an amazing thing that happens when people see and recognize the name 'KIVA' on our materials. Not once does someone say anything like, 'Oh, Kiva, they're pretty cool,' rather, there's a twinkle in the eye as they say something like, "KIVA! I LOVE KIVA!!!' It makes it a lot easier when people are so enthusiastic.

yes, that is George Clinton.

Green Festival in Chicago for KivaB4B.org

2008-06-04T19:11:29Z

My co-worker and I, Shirelle James arrived in the Windy City on Friday May 16th for the Green Festival to raise awareness about the KivaB4B.org initiative. The Festival was being held at the beautiful Navy Pier overlooking Chicago's skyline. It showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable products.

After setting up the KivaB4B booth with much success, we decided to get a good nights rest to prepare for our long day on Saturday.

On Saturday, Shirelle & I manned the booth from 10 O'clock in the morning until 7 at night. We had a blast! We talked to so many people who knew so much about Kiva.org, but not enough about KivaB4B.org. Once we explained to them more about KivaB4B.org, let's just say they were ecstatic, and couldn't believe a bank was behind this cause. Shirelle and I signed up dozens of people to the KivaB4B blog page, and had many sign up for the KivaB4B Advanta credit card. Many people were impressed with the KivaB4B initiative, and wanted to be a part of it. They were impressed with Advanta for not only being socially responsible, but because they knew they could double the impact of a grant by simply using the KivaB4B card.

The Kiva Connection - Inc.com bloggers highlight Kiva borrower stories

2008-06-03T23:59:03Z

This is a cool idea for a company devoted to entrepreneurship. "This past December, Inc.com embarked on an editorial project to cover the rapidly growing phenomenon of microfinance. As a staff, we contributed a modest sum and became lenders on Kiva.org, sponsoring a diverse group of entrepreneurs that includes Phal An, as well as business owners located in Peru, Ecuador, Uganda, Tanzania, and Tajikistan. Updates on these entrepreneurs and their businesses and how they are using their loans are being posted frequently on a new Inc.com blog called "The Kiva Connection."

The most recent post is a great interview with a rice winemaker from Cambodia. Link here.

We're blushing -- Great post about KivaB4B

2008-06-03T19:42:41Z

Paul Marsden on his ClickAdvisor blog wrote a very flattering post about Advanta's two latest initiatives, ideablob.com and kivaB4B. He referred to them as 'crowdsourcing' and 'crowdfunding' platforms. I hadn't heard the term 'crowdfunding' before, but it definitely describes Kiva well.

I don't think we could have gotten a quote as supportive as this even if we went out a did a pay for blog post kind of program (hmmm....how much do those cost?). Paul says, "In a nutshell, we think kivab4b is brilliant. We just wish Advanta cards were available in the UK - we'd change credit card providers in a flash for this, it's brilliant marketing, smart use of digital media, and exemplary CSR. Other brands - particularly, financial services brands, could learn from this..."

A Lender's Story - Karil Daniels and her Kiva loans to Senerita

2008-05-30T04:31:13Z

Really...who can get enough of Senerita? Ok, I'm biased. I spent a bunch of time with her and her husband a fell in love with their kind and open spirits. This video clip is based on an interview with Karil Daniels, an independent filmmaker from San Francisco who has made a bunch of grants through Kiva to women entrepreneurs around the world. Because she used an Advanta business credit card on the Kiva site, Advanta invited her to come to Philadelphia to meet Senerita, one of the recipients of her grants. It was the first time that a Kiva borrower and a Kiva lender met in the US. I had the chance to spend time with them together in the city. You can see some of the pictures from one of the series of posts from 'Senerita's story.' (click here for some of the story and pictures)

Kiva: Google meets Bono

2008-05-29T03:12:26Z

Knowledge@Wharton has a great piece on the impact of Kiva.org. Interestingly enough, the cofounders of the site -- Matt and Jessica Flannery - got a lot of pushback when they initially pitched the idea; that is, venture capitalists thought it would not scale, attorneys were guarded and non-profits were skeptical (was this just another dot-com idea to make a mint?)

Of course, such stuff is moot now. By all accounts, Kiva.org is a huge success and it continues to grow apace. There are even imitators, such as eBay's MicroPlace.

And, according to Knowledge@Wharton:

"Kiva mixes the entrepreneurial daring of Google with the do-gooder ethos of Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2. And with it, the Flannerys have managed to merge two recent socio-economic trends -- social networking and microfinance."

Click here to check out the full piece.