Kiva, a crowdfunding organization, has partnered with the South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) Fiji to fund nearly 10,000 microloans totaling over $15 million. This announcement was made by Mark McDonagh, Kiva Microfunds’ Asia Pacific investment manager, during the opening of SPBD Fiji’s office in Labasa.
In the seven years since Kiva started collaborating with SPBD Fiji, they have successfully crowdfunded loans amounting to approximately $7.1 million (FJ$15.6 million). McDonagh expressed optimism for the future, hoping that both organizations would continue to grow and innovate together.
He noted that Kiva has mobilized $93 million to fund more than 50,000 loans for clients across the SPBD’s network in five Pacific countries. Kiva began its partnership with SPBD 18 years ago, starting with SPBD Samoa in 2006. Initially, SPBD only operated in Samoa but expanded to Tonga in 2009 and established its presence in Fiji a year later, successfully replicating its business model from Samoa.
Today, McDonagh regards SPBD as a unique achievement in sustainable and mission-driven microfinance within the Pacific region. He highlighted Kiva’s mission to enhance financial access for underserved communities, stating that their crowdfunding model helps improve financial services quality and alleviate barriers to financial access globally.
During the opening ceremony, he emphasized the positive impact of their work, enabling students to afford tuition, women to launch businesses, farmers to invest in equipment, and families to access emergency care. Since its inception in 2005, Kiva has facilitated over $4 billion in loans to more than 5.1 million borrowers across nearly 100 countries.