Case Study: Kiva achieves financial inclusion for 3.6M+ entrepreneurs and nearly $1.5B in low-cost loans with PayPal

How PayPal and Kiva have partnered to deliver a world of good for 3.6M entrepreneurs and counting

Since 2005 PayPal and Kiva have partnered to expand access to affordable credit for underserved entrepreneurs worldwide. Their challenge was to democratize lending at scale—reaching disadvantaged borrowers across diverse markets while managing risk, operational complexity, and the rapid pace of technological change.

By pairing Kiva’s microloan model with PayPal’s payments infrastructure, platform capabilities and outreach (employee and customer campaigns), the partnership enabled fast, low‑cost lending and scalable operations. The results: nearly $1.5B in loans, more than 3.6M entrepreneurs helped across 98 countries (including $1B+ to women), a 97% repayment rate, growth in new lenders and strong employee engagement (43%).

Kiva

Neville Crawley

CEO