Kiva Rochester

This StoryMap tells the who, what, why, when, where and how of Kiva Rochester, a creative and progressive collaboration between Kiva Microloans and the City of Rochester. Learn more about Rochester's small business loan initiative here, or check out Kiva's website. Background on Kiva and Kiva Rochester Kiva, an international nonprofit based in San Francisco, connects entrepreneurs with crowdfunded business loans of $1,000-$10,000 at 0% interest and with no fees. Borrowers leverage their loans to launch or expand their businesses, often funding business expenses such as renovations, the purchase of equipment and supplies, marketing campaigns, hiring employees, or moving into store fronts. The Kiva Rochester team helps Rochester entrepreneurs navigate the online platform and the loan application, crowdfunding, and repayment processes. Kiva loans are crowdfunded $25 at a time by individual lenders on the Kiva platform. This program expands access to capital for predominantly low-income and underserved entrepreneurs who typically would not be eligible to receive loans from traditional lending institutions. Learn more about the Rochester businesses that funded Kiva loans in our program's first and second years. Learn more about Kiva's 0% interest small business loans here. See who's fundraising in Rochester today by clicking here. Follow the Kiva Rochester program on Facebook and Instagram.