Welcome to Kiva Northwest Arkansas

Our Story

The Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurial Community is thriving in many ways, yet many sole proprietors or business owners needing to grow a business, or individuals dreaming of starting one, still face major barriers to accessing capital funding. They are among the vast number of financially excluded individuals in the U.S. who are then unable to launch or grow their ideas. NWA needs the financial and emotional buy-in from local investors to ensure our community stays progressive, and continues to thrive.

Kiva is a non-profit that expands access to capital for entrepreneurs around the world. More than 4.3 million people have raised over $1.7 billion on Kiva. We believe in character over credit and the power of community-based lending. Because of these beliefs, we provide funding opportunities for entrepreneurs where conventional lenders can’t. Kiva provides “loans that change lives”.

After launching in Uganda in 2005, Kiva expanded its lending to the United States in 2009. Two years later, President Clinton launched the US Kiva Hubs program, which aims to expand the Kiva model, city by city, to financially excluded and socially impactful entrepreneurs in cities throughout America.