Kiva U.S.
Hubs Program

A Hub is a local organization invested in the success of small business and economic inclusion in their community. A Hub owns the Kiva borrower pipeline and hosts a Kiva Capital Access Manager (CAM) on their staff, trained by Kiva, to support local entrepreneurs.

Hubs are typically: CDFIs, city/state governments, chamber of commerce, foundations, technical assistance providers and accelerators.

Through an established and formal relationship, a local Hub will assume responsibility and relative control over the Kiva loan product within a particular market. The CAM is equipped to support clients on the back-end of the Kiva process, as well. Kiva will provide the CAM with the entire borrower pipeline in the Hub market, defined by zip code, to manage and grow. Sometimes, Hubs have their own Trustee account via in which they are able to endorse loan applications. 

You can find our current Kiva U.S. Hubs - and learn more about our Hubs program - here: https://www.kiva.org/us-hubs

Kiva offers:

🖥️ Systems Access: Back-end visibility, cost-effective underwriting and processing 📑 Training and Onboarding: Resources, marketing materials and custom tools 🌐 Global Lending: Risk-tolerant capital funded by 2+ million lenders motivated by social impact 💬 Impact Data: Regular impact reporting

Hub offers:

🤝 Boots on the ground: Capital Access Manager (CAM) screens and supports borrowers and sources local referrals for Kiva loans. 🏬 Ecosystem building*: Marketing and community development. 💳 Local lending: Engagement opportunity for individuals and local philanthropy. ✅ Financial backing: CAM's salary and Hub Membership fee

*E.g., in the form of technical assistance to borrowers and small business owners or connecting them to other technical assistance providers in the area.

A Capital Access Manager (CAM) is a staff member of the Kiva Hub partner, trained extensively by Kiva on how to share the Kiva loan opportunity with entrepreneurs. The CAM also offers best practices for the application, fundraising, and repayment process and builds a robust support ecosystem in their cities by activating a local lending community.

Hubs are said to represent a “missing micro”; i.e., an area in which small, affordable loans - especially for minorities, women, people with poor credit and other excluded populations - are not accessible.

It's often a geographic area with a population of 20,000 or greater and which usually encompasses a metro area and a 1-2 hour driving radius outside that area.

Ideally, the Hub market includes a network of technical assistance providers (SCORE, LISC, local CDFIs, etc.) within the area, as well.

The contract a Hub signs is a minimum one-year commitment. However, most successful Hubs budget for an ongoing partnership, with some signing 3-year contracts.

1️⃣ The Hub hires a Capital Access Manager (CAM) to lead the Kiva program (recommended minimum commitment of 15 hours/week).

2️⃣ Kiva trains the Hub’s CAM who takes on the role of promoting the program and weaving it into other opportunities that are unique to that Hub and that market.

3️⃣ From the local Kiva Hub, the CAM promotes Kiva to the designated market through weaving Kiva into the resources available to clients of the Hub organization, hosting and attending entrepreneurship and capital access events, local press releases, launch events, and establishment of partnerships with Trustees (existing organizations in the market that have access to certain demographics).

4️⃣ Entrepreneurs and small business owners in the area apply, and applications are sent to the Hub for the CAM to review.

5️⃣ If the application meets the minimum eligibility + quality standards, the CAM sends the application to Kiva for review.

6️⃣ The applicant receives approval from Kiva and the loan is posted.

7️⃣ The applicant, with the support of the CAM, goes through the Private and Public Fundraising periods.

8️⃣ Loan fully funds and is disbursed.

9️⃣ Borrower enters repayment and is supported by the CAM throughout the term.

🔟 CAM receives ongoing support from their Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager.

1️⃣ Identification of the local Hub. 2️⃣ Designation of a particular market (which zip codes) and establishment of goals (# of loans, loan volume and impact). 3️⃣ Selection of Capital Access Manager (CAM) who is to work within the Hub and serve as liaison between the Hub and Kiva. 4️⃣ Signing of partnership contract by Hub. 5️⃣ Provision of annual membership fee from Hub to Kiva to cover program-related expenses. 6️⃣ Signing of CAM agreement by CAM. 7️⃣ Onboarding and training of CAM by Kiva. 8️⃣ Start of Kiva-Hub partnership in action: CAM begins supporting Kiva U.S. applicants and borrowers in that market.

• Hubs may not charge borrowers for their support services related to Kiva.

• It must be made clear that the Hub and Kiva work side-by-side, yet remain separate brands.

  • In promotional language, use wording like “A program of Kiva” or “Kiva powered by the City of Rochester”, etc.

• If an individual is not ready to take on debt (via a Kiva U.S. loan), a Hub will not encourage them to do so.

• Hubs are not to share borrower-level data provided by Kiva to Trustees or other external partners. (Trustees receive data through their Trustee dashboard.)

The CAM can be sourced in multiple ways, depending on the existing resources and needs of the Hub organization:

1. Delegated to an existing staff member

2. Hired new

   1. Full-time (sometimes splitting their time on another organizational program)

   2. Part-time

   3. Utilizing a fellowship program (ex: Americorps Vista)

Partnership & Community Development (~40% of time) 

• Cultivate a community of economic development and small business lending; facilitate a network of resources and stakeholders.

• Train both existing Kiva Trustees and potential new Trustees to act as technical assistance providers to Kiva loan applicants.

• Host or support workshops or trainings about the ‘Capital Ladder’ – highlighting relevant capital access providers beyond Kiva.

• Plan or support local engagement events such as borrower marketplaces.

• Coordinate, schedule, and plan presentations as they arise.

• Respond to informational inquiries about Kiva from prospective partners within the market.

• Promote technical assistance and small business advancement opportunities among Kiva’s partner network.

• Cultivate lending community made of individuals and local philanthropic and corporate lenders to support local businesses.

Manage Local Borrower Experience (~60% of time)

• Monitor the inbound pipeline

  • Review new applications daily, assess which ones are ready to be reviewed by Kiva’s HQ and which ones need more work

  • Ensure Trustee-referred borrower applicants receive endorsements on their applications from Kiva Trustees.

  • Connect borrowers to local Trustees and technical assistance providers.

  • Help to triage borrower support requests and potential borrower inquiries.

Fundraising

• Help borrowers throughout the fundraising process – answer questions, provide fundraising coaching as needed using fundraising templates/strategies.

• Spread the word about currently funding Kiva profiles through the Hub’s networks (and newsletter, if applicable) as appropriate.

Repayments, Delinquency and Defaults

• Implement Kiva’s repayment strategy throughout the pipeline to ensure responsive, motivated and Trustee-backed entrepreneurs are getting prioritized throughout the pipeline.

• Conduct outreach to repaid Kiva borrowers for repeat loans.

• Make sure borrowers understand and are making their repayments on time.

• Conduct routine monthly outreach and reminders to default-eligible borrowers.

• Help Kiva’s HQ decide which borrowers to default (vs. which to grant default exemptions to).

The Capital Access Manager role time commitment can vary from 15-40 hours/week, but this varies depending on the market size and volume goals. The recommended minimum time commitment is 15 hours/week.

Once a Hub has confirmed their contract and partnership with Kiva, they can determine how the CAM will be sourced, and, if relevant, begin hiring for the CAM role. If a CAM is being hired as a new staff member in the Hub, the Hub must:

1. Be responsible for posting and recruiting for the role

2. Use pre-approved content in the job description of the role (subject to edits as is appropriate)

3. Keep the Kiva Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager in the loop regarding interviews and the decision-making process.

4. Guarantee the participation of the CAM in (minimum) monthly CAM trainings (done virtually).

5. (Ideally) have the CAM's start date align* with the date of the CAM training.

If the CAM has split responsibilities between the Kiva program and other Hub-related responsibilities, they may begin sooner than the CAM training, but not begin Kiva-related tasks until after their training.

Prerequisites of Hub/CAM prior to CAM training start:

✅ Signed Hub Contract ✅ Signed CAM agreement ✅ Hub Fee received 

As soon as a Hub is aware of a change in staff as it relates to the CAM role, they must immediately notify the Kiva Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Manager.

Send us an email! Contact the Kiva U.S. Director, Eli Cherner (elic@kiva.org) and express your interest in partnership with Kiva through the Hubs model.