Meet January's Kiva Entrepreneur

Every month we make ‘loans that change lives’ to entrepreneurs without access to traditional banking systems via Kiva.org

Like Kiva, we believe in a world where everyone with a great idea holds the power to realise their potential.

This month’s Kiva Entrepreneur is Smiff from Haiti, who is seeking a loan of $2,575 in order to bulk buy leather and make schoolbags. Smiff stood out to us for several reasons:

• Haiti as a region is under-funded on Kiva, despite the well-reported devastation caused by the magnitude 7 earthquake which hit the country in 2010 and from which it still hasn’t fully recovered.

• Smiff left Haiti to study in France. Although he has a degree in Psychology, he has returned to his recovering country and is seeking to contribute to its economic re-growth and development in a hands-on way. We think this is amazing.

• He knows that there is a demand for what he is doing- Smiff has already received orders and needs this loan to honour them. He knows that he will make up to 30% profit on each of his bags, and that he will be able to make 1000 in 8 weeks if he is able to use the economy of scale that bulk ordering his materials would give him. We love helping people who know their business inside out like Smiff, but who need that extra input to take their vision out to the world.

We wish Smiff all the luck in the world with his venture, and we’re delighted to say that we were able to help him fully fund his loan. Read more here: https://www.kiva.org/lend/1014240