When people are forced to flee their homes and livelihoods, they also leave behind their financial security. But displaced people are often excluded from the financial access they need to regain their footing and restore their economic independence.
Learn how Kiva helps
Advancing financial inclusion for refugees & displaced communities
1 in every 70 people worldwide are currently displaced.
And the total number of displaced people is expected to rise to 300 million by 2030. Since 2016, Kiva has been spearheading financial inclusion for people impacted by forced displacement, giving people the resources they need to start a business, hire employees, support their new community, and create a stable future.
Kiva’s impact for refugees and displaced people
Kiva is committed to supporting 450,000 people impacted by forced migration by 2028.
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Changing lives through financial inclusion
From refugees escaping violence to the communities that host them, financial access is key to helping displaced communities build economic stability. Kiva focuses on expanding financial access to improve the lives of four key groups affected by forced displacement: refugees, internally displaced people, people at risk of forced migration, and impacted host communities.
Support a displaced person
Refugees
After leaving their livelihoods behind, refugees face prejudice and other barriers from traditional banks — and are denied the financial access they need to rebuild, start a business, improve their education, and create a fulfilling life in their new community.
Internally displaced people (IDPs)
Similar to refugees, IDPs have had to flee to new communities, but remain within their home country. Facing economic challenges that negatively impact health, housing, and livelihoods, they need financial resources to regain their stability.
People at risk of forced migration
From climate change and food insecurity to natural disasters and political instability, financial access is crucial to helping millions of people build resilience to shocks and remain safely and sustainably in their homes.
Host communities
As displaced people settle in new areas, host communities are more likely to experience strains on jobs, resources, and services. Fair financial access helps affected communities create long-term solutions.
Since 2016, refugee borrowers have repaid Kiva loans at the same rate as non-refugee clients — over 96% on average!
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Loans to displaced people transform lives
In order to provide finance to people directly in communities impacted by forced displacement, Kiva partners with local organizations, called Lending Partners. According to an independent survey, displaced borrowers working with Kiva Lending Partners saw significant improvements after receiving their loan.
“If I hadn’t gotten this loan, we’d be very poor right now.”
“Back in Congo, I owned a business… everything was taken away from us. Here, I hustled for ways to start a business so that I could sustain myself. No one ever helped us. But the money we were given helped a lot. Now I’m able to bring water to the people in my community. I witnessed my children’s lives change.”
Read Mbazimutima’s storyHelp a displaced person thrive
Rewriting the narrative around refugee financing
Despite the critical need, most financial service providers don’t lend to displaced people due to perceived risk — the assumption that refugee borrowers are less able or likely to repay their loans. But our work with refugees, and their 96% repayment rate, is showing that they’re just as creditworthy as non-refugee borrowers.
Read more on the blogKiva’s proven track record is changing how the financial industry engages with displaced communities.
Launching & expanding refugee lending
Our risk-tolerant funding from crowdfunded loans enables Lending Partners to overcome risk concerns and pilot refugee lending. As financial service providers see that lending in displaced communities is viable, they grow their refugee client base.
Bolstering partners’ reach & capacity
Kiva funding enables partners to expand their services and geographic reach to support more people who are displaced or at risk of forced migration. We also help partners maintain a stable cash flow to sustain refugee lending, even during crises.
Improving outlook for future growth
We also help partners invest in training, research, and other initiatives to build their capacity to serve displaced communities. Stemming from our partnership, many organizations gain access to further funds from other investors which allows them to reach more people and form new collaborative relationships.
The success of Kiva partners like UGAFODE is accelerating refugee lending.
Kiva Lending Partner UGAFODE, a microfinance institution in Uganda, is committed to improving financial access for low-income and underserved clients. With funding from Kiva, UGAFODE was able to grow its innovative programs and launch lending to refugees. In addition, UGAFODE reported that Kiva’s support was instrumental in developing improved training, more tailored products, and ways of gathering client feedback.
Kiva’s capacity building support helps partners better serve refugee clients.
Building on their initial success, Kiva is helping UGAFODE set up within a new refugee settlement to make it easier for refugees to access their services. We’re also funding training for UGAFODE staff on how to tailor their services for refugees, as well as training refugees themselves to share information with their community about financial literacy and how financial resources can help. Ultimately, this capacity building work will help UGAFODE reach more refugees with resources to improve their livelihoods.
“Kiva needs to shout about this because it is one of the key partners that has influenced financial inclusion for refugees.”
— Shafi Nambobi, Chief Executive Officer, UGAFODE | Uganda
Scaling lending to refugees with the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund
Building on the success of crowdfunding loans to people affected by forced migration, Kiva Capital leverages larger investments to expand this financial access even more. In 2021, Kiva Capital launched the Kiva Refugee Investment Fund (KRIF), a five-year fund which has demonstrated that lending to displaced communities is a viable and scalable impact investment strategy.
Kiva’s impact through KRIF
Kiva Capital invests in high-impact organizations driving financial inclusion for displaced communities.
Since September 2023, Armenia has become host to over 100,000 refugees due to the escalation of armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Through support from KRIF, FINCA Armenia has been able to expand its operations in this area to provide essential financial resources to communities affected by the crisis.
Learn more about Kiva Capital“Kiva’s entrance into our portfolio helped us to attract additional funding from other international institutions which were hesitating... This was a very important thing for us.”
— Anush Petrosyan, Chief Financial Officer, FINCA Armenia
Partner with us
We’re already working toward our goal of supporting 450,000 displaced people by 2028.
Join us in these initiatives and more:
Lending expansion
We’ll continue leveraging grant funds and low-cost, risk tolerant lending capital to expand and scale lending to refugees and displaced communities.
Evidence building
We’re conducting outcome studies with independent measurement organizations to better understand the needs of displaced communities and how and when financial services are most impactful for borrowers.
Capacity building
To complement the loans we finance, we’re providing business support and consultancy services for partner financial service providers launching or growing their refugee lending, such as product development, staff training, and more.
Countries where Kiva supports people affected by forced displacement
