Startup Waco Launches Kiva Loan Partnership
Economic Development Solid Gold Neighbor
Lack of capital is a major barrier for small businesses to succeed and thrive. Startup Waco has partnered with Kiva, the largest crowd-lending platform in the world, to provide an innovative solution to increase access to capital for small businesses here in Waco—making it one of 30 hub cities in the nation and the first in the State of Texas to offer this program.
So how does it work? A small business applies for a $0 fee, 0% interest loan through the Kiva website. The loan then goes through a careful underwriting process that measures an entrepreneur’s challenge in obtaining financing through traditional means and determines their commitment and capital readiness. If approved, the loan is then posted to Kiva for lenders to support. A lender can be anyone who is willing to crowdfund the loan in increments of $25 or more. Depending on the funding model loan, the entrepreneur will receive the full or partial loan amount after the fundraising period ends.
Lenders, an integral part of this process, receive repayments over time—based on the given repayment schedule and the entrepreneur’s ability to repay. The repayments go into the lender’s Kiva accounts which allows for continual lending to support other small businesses in our city, across the nation, and around the world!
Startup Waco, a Baylor University partner, is a hub for programs, resources, and connections helping small businesses and startups thrive in Waco’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Their role in this process it to provide wrap-around financial education and advisory services to recipient small businesses.
One of our Go Gold! partners, Waco Cha, has been the first small business in Waco to apply, be approved, and be fully funded for a $15,000 Kiva loan! With the assistance of Startup Waco, we hope to see many more small businesses apply and be fully funded by our community.
Looking to learn more or apply? Visit https://www.kiva.org/ and connect with Startup Waco at info@startupwaco.com. To become a lender and directly impact a small business, visit https://www.kiva.org/lend.