Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about the Hubs.
Through an established and formal relationship, a local Hub will assume responsibility and relative control over the Kiva Loan product within a particular market. The Hub will employ a Capital Access Manager or CAM, a staff member internal to the Hub who is trained by Kiva on how to share the loan opportunity with entrepreneurs and local stakeholders. The CAM is also equipped to support clients on the back end of the Kiva process. Kiva will provide the CAM with the entire borrower pipeline in the Hub market, defined by zip code, to manage and grow. Sometimes, Hubs have their own Trustee account, in which they are able to endorse loan applications.
- A Hub is a local organization invested in the success of small business and economic inclusion in their community, who has agreed to own the Kiva borrower pipeline and “host” a Kiva Capital Access Manager on their staff. They can be…
- A local city or county government
- A nonprofit organization with a mission encompassing financial inclusion
- An economic development corporation
- Community lender / CDFI
- B-corp
- An industry-specific organization that serves a population who could benefit from Kiva loans (ex: farmers, refugees, etc)
A Hub market looks like…
- A “missing micro”: a lack of small, affordable loans, especially for minorities, women, people with poor credit and other excluded populations
- A geographic area with a population of 20,000 or greater, which usually encompasses a metro area and a 1-2 hour driving radius outside that area
- A network of technical assistance providers (SCORE, LISC, local CDFIs, etc) within the area
- Technical assistance to borrowers and small business owners, or connection to other technical assistance providers in the area
- Relationships to other service providers, capital access providers and community resources that can assist in supporting the small business owner and entrepreneur at different steps in the capital ladder
- Ability to refer back and forth between these relationships
- Ability to commit financially to:
- The Kiva Market Management Fee – charged annually
- Cost of staffing a CAM – internal cost for Hub
A Hub cannot…
- Charge clients for its support in accessing a Kiva loan
- Many of Kiva’s Hubs are technical service providers who host business courses etc that they offer to clients in return for a fee. This is fine, however, the Hub must make it clear that the borrower can still apply for a Kiva loan for free
The contract a Hub signs is a minimum one-year commitment. However, most successful Hubs budget for an ongoing partnership, with some signing 3-year contracts.
- The Hub hires a Capital Access Manager (CAM) to lead the Kiva program (recommended minimum commitment of 15 hours/week)
- Kiva trains the Hub’s CAM who takes on the role of promoting the program and weaving it into other opportunities that are unique to that Hub and that market
- From the local Kiva Hub, the CAM promotes Kiva to the designated market through weaving Kiva into the resources available to clients of the Hub organization, hosting and attending entrepreneurship and capital access events, local press releases, launch events, and establishment of partnerships with Trustees (existing organizations in the market that have access to certain demographics)
- Borrowers in the area apply, and applications are sent to the Hub for the CAM to review
- If the application meets the quality standards, the CAM sends the application to Kiva for review
- Borrower receives approval from Kiva and the loan is posted
- Borrower, with the support of the CAM, goes through private and public fundraising periods
- Loan fully funds and is disbursed
- Borrower enters repayment and is supported by the CAM throughout the term
- CAM receives ongoing support from their Regional Manager
A Hub is Committed To…
Equitably supporting all clients without bias
Market goals
- Minimum commitment of 10 loans raised/year
- (Optional if Hub already provides technical assistance) Minimum of 1 Trustee trained, onboarded and active (servicing borrowers and making endorsements) by end of year 1
- (Optional) 1-2 community events held/year
Impact goals
80% of all borrowers who come through the pipeline meet at least one of these criteria:
- Minority entrepreneurs
- Female entrepreneurs
- Low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs
Repayment goals
> 80% repayment rate
- Identify the local Hub
- Designate a particular market (which zip codes) and set goals (# of loans, loan volume and impact)
- CAM selected to work within Hub
- Hub signs partnership contract
- Hub provides an annual membership fee to Kiva to cover program related expenses
- CAM signs CAM agreement
- Kiva onboards and trains CAM
- CAM begins supporting borrowers in that market
- Hubs will not charge borrowers for their Kiva support services
- Make clear that the Hub and Kiva are different brands, but work side by side
- In promotional language, use wording like “A program of Kiva” or “Kiva powered by the City of Cleveland” etc
- If a borrower is not ready to take on debt, a Hub will not encourage them to do so
- Do not share borrower-level data provided by Kiva to Trustees or external partners. Trustees receive data through their Trustee dashboard
Learn more about the role of a Capital Access Manager (CAM).
A Capital Access Manager (CAM) is a staff member of the Kiva Hub partner, trained extensively by Kiva, on how to share the loan opportunity with entrepreneurs, by offering best practices for the application and fundraising process and build a robust ecosystem in their cities to support small businesses by activating a local lending community. Additionally, Kiva equips the CAM with the entire borrower pipeline to manage and grow. The CAM then takes on the responsibility for all of the borrower-facing relationships in their market.
- Equitably supporting all clients without bias
- Researching the local capital ladder and…
- Establishing relationships with other lenders
- Referring up and down capital ladder
- Market goals:
- Minimum commitment of 10 loans raised/year
- (Optional if Hub is already providing technical assistance) Minimum of 1 Trustee trained, onboarded and active (servicing borrowers and making endorsements) by end of year )
- (Optional) 1-2 community events held/year
- Impact goals: 80% of all borrowers who come through the pipeline meet at least one of these criteria:
- Minority entrepreneurs
- Female entrepreneurs
- Low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs
- Repayment goals:
- > 80% repayment rate
- The code of conduct laid out in this contract
The Capital Access Manager role time commitment can vary from 15-40 hours/week, but this varies depending on the market size and volume goals. The recommended minimum time commitment is 15 hours/week.
The CAM can be sourced in multiple ways, depending on the existing resources and needs of the Hub organization:
- Delegated to an existing staff member
- Hired new
- Full Time (sometimes splitting their time on another organizational program)
- Part Time
- Utilizing a fellowship program (ex: Americorps Vista)
The ideal CAM is…
- Comfortable being independent
- A critical thinker
- Not afraid to ask questions
- Highly organized
- Employs strong time management skills
- Highly communicative
- Experience and comfort with public speaking, events, and managing partnerships
- Comfortable with technology and able to navigate multiple platforms at once (google drive/calendar/email, slack, excel, etc)
Optional qualifications…
- Bachelor’s degree and/or work experience in one of the related fields:
- Microfinance
- Small business experience
- Banking and finance
- Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, etc
- Government or Nonprofit management
- Familiarity with the market in which the Hub is located
- Conversational in Spanish or other language prevalent in local community
Partnership & Community Development (40% of time)
- Cultivate a community of economic development and small business lending, log a network of resources and stakeholders
- Train both existing Kiva Trustees and potential new Trustees to act as technical assistance providers to Kiva applicants
- Host or support workshops/convenings about the ‘Capital Ladder’ – highlighting relevant capital access providers beyond Kiva
- Plan or support local engagement events such as borrower marketplaces
- Coordinate, schedule, and plan presentations as they arise
- Respond to informational inquiries about Kiva from prospective partners within the market
- Promote technical assistance and small business advancement opportunities among Kiva’s partner network
- Cultivate lending community made of individuals and local philanthropic and corporate lenders to support local businesses
Manage Local Borrower Experience (60% of time)
- Monitor the inbound pipeline
- Monitor metrics to ensure borrowers are meeting Kiva’s goals
- Review new applications daily, assess which ones are ready to be reviewed by Kiva’s HQ and which ones need more work
- Ensure Trustee-referred borrower applicants receive endorsements on their applications from Kiva Trustees
- Connect borrowers to local Trustees and technical assistance providers
- Help to triage borrower support requests and potential borrower inquiries
- Monitor the inbound pipeline
Fundraising
- Help borrowers throughout the fundraising process – answer questions, provide fundraising coaching as needed using fundraising templates/strategies
- Spread the word about currently funding Kiva profiles through the Hub’s networks and newsletter as appropriate
Repayments, Delinquency and Defaults
- Implement Kiva’s repayment strategy throughout the pipeline to ensure responsive, motivated and Trustee-backed entrepreneurs are getting prioritized throughout the pipeline
- Conduct outreach to repaid Kiva borrowers for repeat loans
- Make sure borrowers understand and are making their repayments on time
- Conduct routine monthly outreach and reminders to default-eligible borrowers
- Help Kiva’s HQ decide which borrowers to default
Once a Hub has confirmed their contract and partnership with Kiva, they can determine how the CAM will be sourced, and if relevant, begin hiring for the CAM role. If a CAM is being hired as a new staff member in the Hub, the Hub must:
- Be responsible for posting and recruiting for the role
- Use the above content in the job description of the role (subject to edits as is appropriate)
- Include the Kiva Regional Manager in the final interviews and decision-making process
- Guarantee the participation of the CAM in one of the four annual CAM trainings (done remotely)**
- Make a start date for the CAM that aligns with the date of the CAM training
- If the CAM has split responsibilities between the Kiva program and other Hub-related responsibilities, they may begin sooner than the CAM training, but not begin Kiva-related tasks until after their training
**Notes on CAM training:
- Prerequisites completed by the Hub/CAM Prior to training date:
- Signed Hub Contract
- Signed CAM agreement
- Hubs Fee received
- Training will be given in 5 weekly modules
- If Hub gets a new CAM, they will have to be re-trained
- If an existing Hub needs retraining in a specific area they are welcome to join upon recommendation by Regional Manager
As soon as a Hub is aware of a change in staff as it relates to the CAM role, they must immediately notify the Kiva Regional Manager.
Learn more about loan matching.
With a revolving loan fund on Kiva.org, organizations and individuals can maximize their impact in the sectors and countries of their choice. Loan matchers can re-lend their funds again and again, multiplying their impact and helping Kiva.org borrowers get funded twice as fast.
- Set your criteria. When you set up a matching account with Kiva, you define where you want the dollars to go—the countries, sectors and causes most important to you.
- A badge appears on supported loans. As Kiva lenders browse through fundraising loans, they’ll see a x2 badge with your display name on borrower profiles that fit your criteria.
- Loans are automatically matched. When lenders support a qualifying borrower, a loan for the same dollar amount will also be made from your matching account as long as funds last.
Loan matching partners who make a commitment of over $50,000 receive:
- Tailored impact: Choose the sectors and geographies you care most about.
- Rapid response: Deploy funds efficiently to meet your chosen lending criteria.
- Public acknowledgement: Visibility of your loan matching publicly displayed on Kiva.org.
- Integrated analytics: Comprehensive data reporting.
- Tax deductibility and maximized funds, depending on how your contribution is structured.
Bank of America: Through a partnership with Kiva, Bank of America matches loans for women entrepreneurs. Bank of America has helped catalyze nearly $600,000 in fully funded loans, including by participating in Kiva initiatives such as the International Women’s Day Matching Campaign.
LISC: Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), another partner of Kiva’s, sponsors a one-to-one matching fund to help borrowers reach their crowdfunding goal. Borrowers work with a LISC trustee to qualify. As of 2020, LISC has funded over 300 borrowers through over $750,000 in loans.
