Kiva Reviews 

I’ve been a KIVA donor for over 10 years and feel honoured to be part of this organization. I got involved because the ability to loan as little as $25 to a collective loan and know that it was helping to improve the lives of desperately poor and under-serviced citizens of some of the poorest regions on earth, gave purpose to my life. KIVA is so well organized and well run and requires little input from donors. The loan-seekers are selected by KIVA, the program is run smoothly by field staff following up with the borrowers, and updates about “my” chosen borrowers are a great thing to receive. To know that someone you have donated to is doing well and improving their family’s lives is heartening.

Great platform to make a difference and see the difference! Trustworthy programs and great information about the borrowers. A small amount invested over and over again when repaid has an amazing ripple effect.

KIVA is a great nonprofit that helps people all over the world succeed in their lives and businesses. It's a trustworthy, compassionate, and well-run organization that I have contributed to for a number of years.

Small loans make a difference!
I have been lending with Kiva for about 5 years. The small amount I loan each time ($25) has always been repaid. It makes a difference to the borrowers and is a very worthwhile thing to do. In the last year all the loans I have made help students or their parents pay for uniforms, computers, or tuition. Education is important to me and I am pleased I can support others who have educational expenses.

Wonderful organization helping underserved people around the world find financial help to improve their lives. I enjoy lending and then relending my contributions. I also love their transparency regarding my loans.

I supported few projects. When it was time to get back the credit I got messages weather I would like to support more projects. The case I would not answer the mail kiva would choose new projects and invest the money for me. But - to get back money you need a PayPal account! I payed in with my bankcard and was not informed I need Pay Pal to get back money. No other option in Europe. I don't have PayPal, neither friends or relatives use it. I didn't get back anything. And I most properly will never see a penny.
The customer service was easy to contact and very nice, but they couldn't find any other solution.

Trustworthy.
Been a member for 5 years - and its a good way doing good for other people.
Thank you

Trustworthy, easy, visible impact.
This is not charity, it is capitalism without the big fish stealing all the profits.

I have been lending through Kiva for years. It's humbling and satisfying to make a loan, have it repaid, and loan to another...

Kiva tells me about the individual women I’m helping, and only a small donation can make a big difference.

I've loaned through Kiva for 7 or 8 years in a diverse cross-section of areas from education to agriculture and retail help for borrowers. Kiva has no-nonsense profiles of borrowers and keeps me advised of loan progress and even the rare default. I can't think of a better way than micro-loans to those in need when done on a one-to-one basis through Kiva. Great job, Kiva!

With Kiva I can choose the recipient of my loan. This gives me the chance to support causes I believe in.

This is about an unresolved ongoing theft by KIVA, and this is my best effort to caution you to choose another platform if you have a heart for supporting small business.

My investment was repaid super early, but I received no notification from Kiva that my money was back in my account, so naturally it sat there until it past the point which Kiva defines in their user agreement that allows them to "reinvest" however they choose. Not only did they use my money to support projects that did not deserve funding just so they could harvest 12% from each investment, but they also split the investments up into so many fractions that I couldn't simply wait for the repayment to withdraw a lump sum again. It was a strategic effort designed to make me abandon all hope of getting my money back so they could continue to reinvest, collect 12% each time, and profit from high interest on the back end.

They are robbing you (and small businesses in need).

Truly, I would have been okay if the projects they picked were ambitious and trying to achieve something good, but it was just a money grab for Kiva. They didn't even send me an email saying "Hey, we just re-invested in these projects for you, thought you might like to know."

Their communication is non-existent

When I eventually found out, I tried working with their customer service, but the whole experience was designed to wear me out, and it did. It was a rude nightmare and there was no resolution and one of the higher up employees that got involved even told me that I was better off forgetting about the money because there was nothing they could do.

Meanwhile, Kiva continues to profit from my money, taking interest while it is locked away and untouchable. It's been years and the best I can do is withdraw a couple bucks every once in a while just on principle (because it is not worth my time and energy) but I don't want them to continue using my money.

Stay away from this awful wolf-in-sheeps-clothing for-profit company

Well run and good way to help people in other countries! I've been lending since 2021 and rarily do loans not get paid back. I keep re-lending the balance that is paid back and adding some new funds each year. It's rewarding and the dashboard makes it easy to see who you are helping.

Kiva has positive global impact and gives the opportunity to support entrepreneurs in developing regions.

In a big world with many problems, Kiva has found a way to help, in a significant way, those who need a path to improve their lives, their families’ lives, and their community. These are people with a plan, likely a small business, a farm, or perhaps a craftsman, an artist in embroidered clothing, who just need what every other business has — access to funding and information on best practices. In partnership with other small lenders, borrowers who have no access to a banking system, now have the opportunity to run their business in a more efficient, modern way.

The website makes it easy to search loans in different ways, such as by region or country, by type of business or project, by women or men or refugees. The reward is becoming a part of their real-world story and celebrating their successes. Very rarely, problems of the larger world interfere with repayment, and Kiva steps in to try to help, but it’s not possible. It makes me grateful for my own good fortune and glad to have tried to help someone whose only insurmountable difficulty was outside their control.

I love what I call my Kiva family, those I have helped, and it’s made me more aware of how precarious life is for so many.

I've been active for several years on Kiva now, it's great to see the investment working directly at organisations who need it and being able to select regions and topics myself feels way more effective than any other help I can provide.

Kiva is a good thing and bright light in a troubled world. It gives me insight into the lives of others and a way to make a positive difference in their lives.

I have been lending to Kiva borrowers for many years. It is a simple, straightforward program of lending a small amount of money, being paid back and then lending that same money again, over and over. I have never had a bad experience with Kiva and they offer excellent customer service. I have many choices of borrowers from all over the world and am provided with information about how the loan will be used. I have made loans for medical treatment, equipment for a small business, supplies for improving housing and sanitation and more! Most recently I loaned a small amount, along with other lenders, for tuition for medical school for a young student from a small village in Georgia. Multiple lenders like me made the large loan possible. It's an effective model of a group effort to help others and has lasting results for the borrower.

A great way to help someone improve their lot. The process of lending and repayment is simple. In my opinion Kiva exemplifies what we all thought and hoped the internet would do.