Jessica Jackley, Co-Founder of KIVA, the World’s 1st Online Microlending Network, Will Speak at Vanderbilt University on February 9th
January 25, 2011
Vanderbilt University is excited to announce that social entrepreneur, Jessica Jackley, Co-Founder of Kiva.org, will be speaking at Langford Auditorium on Wednesday February 9th at 7 pm. This event is hosted by an alliance of Vanderbilt’s student organizations, including the Global Poverty Initiative, the Vanderbilt Microfinance Club, and Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity.
Ms. Jackley Co-Founded Kiva, the world’s first and largest online microlending network that connects individuals to impoverished entrepreneurs by facilitating small loans for business development. Kiva has amplified and revolutionized the scale and scope of microfinance, a tool first introduced by Vanderbilt alumnus and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Muhammad Yunus. As of December 2010, Kiva has facilitated over $183 million in loans to over 474,000 entrepreneurs with a repayment rate of 98%.
Ms. Jackley holds an MBA from Stanford University and its Center for Social Innovation and Public Management. Most recently, she launched ProFounder, a lending network that allows entrepreneurs to raise investment capital from friends and online members. While Kiva focuses on planting the seeds of development in the poorest areas, ProFounder allows all entrepreneurs to have access to critical resources to accelerate business creation and expansion.
Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com, at the Sarratt Box office, and at the event for $5. All proceeds will be donated to Microfinance Field Partners on Kiva.org that have specific health-related services available to their borrowers, including access to clinics, health education, and medical insurance.
A reception will follow the event with Grins cookies, Bongo Java Coffee, and Partners Tea.
This event is being sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students, Project Pyramid, Managerial Studies Program, Speakers Committee, VSG Programming Board, and OACS. Please contact Mollie Epstein or Arielle Samet with any questions (mollie.e.epstein@vanderbilt.edu or arielle.r.samet@vanderbilt.edu).
