Status update — August, 2019

Kiva and Junior Achievement have agreed to end their partnership after more than 7 years and over $45k in loans raised. This Lending Partner has repaid all its outstanding balance to Kiva in full, and these funds have been distributed to lenders. We thank Junior Achievement for the years of collaboration and wish them success in their future endeavors.

Partner Description:

Junior Achievement (JA) Kenya is one of the largest nonprofit organizations in Kenya dedicated to educating students and youth about financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness. It is part of the umbrella Junior Achievement organization, whose programs help students apply entrepreneurial thinking skills in the real world and teach them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it.

The organization also helps create jobs to strengthen the local economy. Through JA, students contribute to the development of their communities by gaining practical business experience and insight. The programs range from basic economic education for students to academically enriching programs in entrepreneurship education.

With the help of at least 250,000 volunteers per year, JA reaches approximately 9.3 million students in over 122 countries worldwide.

JA Kenya's purpose is to inspire and prepare young Kenyans to succeed in the global economy. The organization has had incredible success with the JA Company program, in particular, through which students have the opportunity to run and manage their own companies.

Youth enrolled in this program are supported to establish companies and manage them for 15 weeks, including carrying out market analyses and raising capital. The program has been instrumental in sparking the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth.

Kiva lenders’ funds will be used to help JA Kenya continue to deliver its programs with greater outreach and with the goal of targeting an increased number of out-of-school youth. These funds will enable students to build their own companies and learn how to manage them efficiently.

JA Kenya’s Impact

Since 1999, JA Kenya has directly impacted more than 200,000 students with the support provided by 17,000 volunteer mentors in more than 500 schools countrywide. Today, the organization has operations in various Kenyan cities including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kakamenga, Nakuru, Kisii, Maseno and Ruiru, and its reach continues to grow.

JA Kenya joined Kiva through our Experimental Partnership Program, and has therefore received a lighter level of due diligence. Accordingly, loans associated with this partner carry a higher level of risk than typical Kiva loans.