Kiva Zip is a crowdfunding platform that allows you to LEND money to small business owners for as little as $5. We are on a mission to reinsert human relationships and personal connections into our financial system.

1. How to become an impact
investor in three minutes
Eddie, Jacksonville, AR

2. Kiva Zip is a community of people
crowdfunding 0% interest microloans
to small business owners.
These small business owners are
the economic heartbeat of our nation,
and bring vibrancy and diversity to
our neighborhoods, but they often
don’t qualify for conventional loans.
With Kiva Zip, you have the
power to change that! Here’s how…
Chancey, Greenville, SC

3. Step 1: Find a small business owner that you
want to lend to. Feel free to read their story,
check out the other lenders on the loan, and
view the “Conversations” happening on the loan.
If you want to invest in this small business owner,
click the “Lend Now” button.

4. Step 2: On the Basket page, you can edit the amount
you lend to your borrower. The average lender lends
$50, but you can lend as little as $5!
An optional donation on top of your loan is added to
your basket by default. As a non-profit, Kiva Zip relies
on the generosity of lenders like you to operate.
But you can remove this donation if you want to.
When you’re ready, click the “Register” button to
create a Kiva Zip lender account.

5. Step 3: Register for a
Kiva Zip lender account
by entering your details
and clicking the
“Register” button.

6. Step 4: After you have
created an account, you will
be brought back to the
Basket page to “Checkout”.

7. Step 5: You can either pay with PayPal,
or with a debit or credit card.

8. Step 6: Thank you for joining our Kiva Zip
community as a lender, and helping
create economic opportunities for hard-
working small business owners!
Please help us grow the movement by
sharing on Facebook or Twitter.

9. Unlike other crowdfunding
platforms, one of the great
things about the Kiva Zip
model is that you are making
a loan, not a donation.
Over time, the small business
owner you made a loan to
promises to repay you.
As they repay, you will receive
the money as Kiva Zip credit.
You can then recycle
this credit, or withdraw it
if you want to…
…Just don’t let it sit idly in
your account – put it to work!
Matt, Washington, DC
(On stage with Bill Clinton!)

10. Kat, Racine, WI
In a world where our financial system is increasingly
based on numbers, averages and algorithms…
…The Kiva Zip community envisions a world where human
relationships are restored into the heart of that financial system.
Where entrepreneurs are
economically empowered
by the strength of their
character, rather than
financially excluded by
their lack of collateral.
Where hundreds of people lending in
small increments of $5 or more can step
forward to create opportunities,
because they care more about making
a difference in their communities than
about making a quick buck.
Where loans aren’t just about
money, but are a way to connect
borrowers with a supportive
network of hundreds of business
advisers, brand ambassadors,
customers and new friends.

11. Why be a lender on Kiva Zip?
1) Build the economy that you want to live in, by funding the launch and growth of
hard-working small business owners in your community;
2) Support a cause you care about – like Sustainable Agriculture or Returning
Veterans – in an easy way;
3) Recycle your money over time, to multiply your impact without any additional
investment – Kiva Zip’s repayment rate on loans is over 90%;
4) Connect with small business owners on a personal level – by becoming their
customer or brand ambassador, or sending them a simple message of
encouragement;
5) Become part of the movement, by joining our global community of 50,000
lenders in over 100 countries.

12. What does success look like?
Like many startup small business
owners, when Victor opened his
first coffee shop in San Francisco
in early 2012, he struggled to
access conventional loans.
But 67 Kiva Zip lenders came
together to make him a $5,000
interest-free, crowdfunded loan.
A year later, Victor had paid them
back, and borrowed $10,000
from 129 Kiva Zip lenders to open
a second coffee shop.
Victor now has three coffee shops
around San Francisco, employing
15 people, and bringing cultural
vibrancy to the communities they
are located in.
“People have put
their trust in me
and I don’t want to
let them down.”
Victor, San Francisco, CA

13. “Whenever I make a
loan it makes me
feel happy!”
Jon, Kiva Zip lender
“The other day I went to visit my borrower’s coffee shop –
it was great to connect with him in person, and he was
very grateful for my loan, even though it was only $25!”
Ali, Kiva Zip lender
“With Kiva Zip, I feel like I can be a
part of an entrepreneur’s success.”
Suzanna, Kiva Zip lender
“As a small business owner
myself, I know how hard it
can be to make it work. I
hope that, in a small way,
my lending on Kiva Zip is an
encouragement to the
borrowers I lend to.”
Nate, Kiva Zip lender

14. Join them today!
Hear Bill Clinton talking
about Kiva Zip in Little Rock
Watch our video introducing
the Kiva Zip program
Join the movement yourself
by becoming a lender today!

15. Thank you for being the change
you want to see in the world.
Sebastian, Detroit, MI