Global Brigades Inc.

Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.

Update November 25th, 2025:

Over the past decade, Global Brigades has been an extraordinary partner to Kiva, enabling more than 1.6 million loans on our platform and expanding financial access for underserved communities across Panamá, Honduras and Nicaragua. Their commitment has helped thousands of families build resilience, grow their livelihoods, and pursue new opportunities.

Global Brigades has now decided to centralize all of its lending activities within Eskala, its in-house microfinance initiative. As a result, Kiva and Global Brigades will be formally closing our lending partnership. We are proud to share that Global Brigades has fully repaid all outstanding Kiva loans.

Importantly, their impact will continue. Kiva maintains a strong and growing partnership with Eskala in Panama and Honduras, ensuring that the communities previously served through Global Brigades will continue to access fair, affordable financing.

We are deeply grateful for Global Brigades’ years of collaboration and shared mission—and we look forward to continuing to support the entrepreneurs and families they champion through our work with Eskala.

Partner Description:

Global Brigades is an international non-profit that uniquely implements a holistic model to meet a community’s healthcare, water and sanitation, and economic development goals. Over the next eight years, Global Brigades is committed to empower 100 rural Central American communities, that represent about 65,000 persons, to permanently rise out of extreme poverty. The ambitious approach aligns to 6 UN Sustainable Development goals, with the ultimate goal to create a blueprint to end rural poverty in Central America.  

Global Brigades' economic development program is focused on achieving two goals 1) community financial inclusion through equal access to sufficient, affordable credit with a trained Community Bank in place and 2) to increase and diversify family income. These goals are supported through the development of community-owned banks, financial literacy training, business consulting and micro loans.  

A unique lending approach:

Through Kiva loans, families in Global Brigades' Panamanian and Nicaraguan partner communities are able to access financial resources to invest in small businesses to reduce financial risk and increase their income. In Panama, Global Brigades mainly works with women business owners, often in rural and indigenous communities. In Nicaragua, Global Brigades works with mostly women business owners, all located in rural areas. Kiva funding is one of the most important sources that capitalize the community-owned bank (Cajas Rurales) for these loans for aspiring entrepreneurs.