Los Angeles, California – June 22, 2021 – Kiva Hubs, a nationwide program model to deploy Kiva loans to small businesses in regional markets, is coming to Los Angeles. After the successful launch of 39 Kiva Hubs across the United States, Kiva is partnering with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA) and the New Economics for Women (NEW) Women's Business Center to anchor the new Hub in the City of Angels, which will be hosted by NEW. This expansion was made possible with funding from PayPal. Businesses can apply now: https://new-nci.com/kiva-los-angeles.
Kiva Hubs are operated through collaborative partnerships between Kiva and local organizations like LISC LA and NEW that oversee the deployment of small business and startup loans in regional markets that lack small, affordable lending options – especially for often excluded populations like women and people of color. As one part of its initiative to support Black-owned businesses and narrow the racial wealth gap, PayPal is backing the establishment of the Los Angeles Hub with the goal of scaling Kiva’s lending platform to predominantly Black communities. PayPal’s funding will allow Kiva to reach more Black-owned businesses, helping connect them to zero percent interest loans. In addition to enabling geographic expansion, PayPal has been Kiva’s exclusive online payments partner, processing every loan made through Kiva.
“PayPal is deeply committed to fighting inequality by economically empowering communities that have been historically underserved by our financial system,” said Franz Paasche, Senior Vice President, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, PayPal. “By supporting the establishment of the Los Angeles Kiva Hub, we can work to ensure that the Black and underserved entrepreneurs can access the capital they need to grow and thrive.”
Kiva has partnered with LISC offices across the country to deploy loans through a number of programs. Since the inception of this partnership, Kiva and LISC LA have deployed an estimated $260,000 to 36 local entrepreneurs – 56% of these businesses were led by women and 67% by people of color. During COVID-19, this partnership helped small food businesses meet their funding goals more quickly via a matching campaign and 0% interest loans.
“During the pandemic and beyond, Kiva has been a key partner in LISC’s mission to identify and support diverse businesses struggling to access traditional loans,” said Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, Executive Director of LISC LA. “We are thrilled to expand our partnership through Kiva Hubs and continue to provide our local businesses with the resources they need to thrive.”
Kiva seeks to expand this local partnership with the addition of NEW Women’s Business Center, who will serve as the Los Angeles Hub’s Capital Access Manager. As facilitators of economic inclusion, the Hub will build successful small businesses in the Kiva borrower pipeline through technical assistance and community resources.
“We see the KIVA partnership as a natural extension of our work at the Women’s Business Center and look forward to working with the team at LISC,” said Quentin Strode, President and CEO of NEW Community Investments. “The technical assistance we’re providing will better prepare potential clients for successful transactions in the future as a result of this relationship.”
Through the pandemic and now in the economic recovery, small businesses are still precariously close to losing their livelihoods, and access to small, affordable lending options can make all the difference. This rang true for Arturo Enciso, owner of Gusto Breads in Long Beach. The Latinx-owned business, which serves old world-style baking to the Long Beach community, received a Kiva loan of $10,000, which has allowed Enciso to open a physical storefront and purchase cooking equipment needed to keep up with bakery’s growing popularity.
“The collective impact from the partnership between PayPal, LISC, NEW WBC and Kiva will create an ecosystem of support for financially excluded entrepreneurs in LA County,” said Anne Elizabeth Lufkin-Riaño Kiva US’ Strategic Partnerships Manager. “LA County is Kiva's largest market, and this hub will be able to deploy at least $350,000 in interest-free capital to entrepreneurs not able to access traditional sources of capital and serve as a model for other municipalities across the country.”
With the establishment of a Kiva Hub in Los Angeles, Kiva partners like LISC LA and NEW will be able to continue connecting diverse businesses to capital, technical assistance, and other community resources. For more information, visit https://www.kivaushub.org.
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About Kiva
Kiva is an international nonprofit with a mission to expand financial access to underserved communities. Since 2005, Kiva has raised more than $1.4 billion in loan capital for 3.6 million borrowers in 95 countries. Kiva lenders fund over $13 million in loans every month. In the US, Kiva provides zero-interest zero-fee loans ranging from $1,000-$15,000 to American small businesses that cannot access equitable, affordable capital and who have otherwise been excluded from the financial system primarily; women, people of color, immigrants, veterans, and low to moderate-income entrepreneurs. In order to expand Kiva’s reach across the United States, Kiva US partners with local organizations interested in leveraging Kiva’s platform to expand capital access within a specific geography. These 39 Hubs create ecosystems that foster collaboration to support entrepreneurs with capital and technical assistance. To learn more, please read our recently published blog post with reflections from 2020 and our plan forward in 2021.
About LISC
With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $20 billion to build or rehab 400,500 affordable homes and apartments and develop 66.8 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. LISC LA’s mission is to work with local leaders to invest in housing, health, education, public safety, and employment – these basic needs must be tackled at once so that progress in one is not undermined by neglect in another.
About NEW
New Economics for Women sparks economic mobility for women, particularly for Latinas and their families, through wealth creation, housing, education, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. We empower generations of women and families to thrive. For more information, please visit www.neweconomicsforwomen.org.