Lendio Provides Loans to Small Businesses in 75 Countries Through Kiva

SILICON SLOPES, Utah, Nov. 1, 2017 — Lendio, the nation’s leading marketplace for small business loans, today announced that through its Lendio Gives program, the company has provided more than $25,000 in loans to over 1,200 small business owners in 75 countries around the world. Kiva is a San Francisco-based nonprofit with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty, to field and identify loans that can help borrowers start or grow a business, go to school, access clean energy, or realize their potential. Lendio Gives is an employee-driven program where Lendio matches every dollar an employee donates.

“Lendio’s mission statement is to fuel the American Dream for small businesses, but the other company pillar is to foster a culture that gives back. That is why we chose Kiva’s ‘Back A Dream’ program, which is highly aligned with Lendio’s mission to help small business owners get access to capital, typically when others have already told them no,” said Brock Blake, CEO and founder of Lendio. “It goes without saying that our team is incredible, and I’m extremely grateful to them for generously contributing to support the Lendio Gives initiative through Kiva.”

The top five sectors supported by Lendio’s funding are agriculture, food, retail, clothing, and services. Of the loans Lendio has funded, 86 percent have gone to women, or women’s groups. Employees select which loans to support and Kiva then pools Lendio employee funds into $25 increments with other groups to provide loans in more than 80 countries. The top countries Lendio has supplied funding to include Zimbabwe, Peru, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, the Philippines, Kenya, El Salvador, and Senegal. Once Lendio receives repayment, it reinvestments the funds by putting it back into new loans.

Kiva and their localized partners vet small business borrowers and provide short-term micro loans, typically in amounts from $150 to $5,000 to early stage small businesses in impoverished countries around the world. One hundred percent of every dollar a company lends to Kiva goes to funding loans. Kiva covers costs primarily through optional donations, as well as through support from grants and sponsors.

For more information about Lendio, visit www.lendio.com.