- Kiva receives a $100K Her Village grant from Boundless Futures Foundation.
- The funding will establish a revolving loan fund and support female-led social enterprises.
What happened: Kiva expands support for female entrepreneurs with Boundless Futures Grant
Kiva, a global nonprofit known for its crowdfunded microloans, has secured a $100,000 Her Village grant from Boundless Futures Foundation. The grant is dedicated to supporting women-led businesses in the United States that tackle social and environmental challenges.
The funding will establish a revolving loan fund on Kiva’s platform, aimed specifically at female founders and social entrepreneurs. This financial support seeks to reduce barriers to capital for women-led enterprises, a sector that currently receives only 2% of venture capital investments in the U.S., according to research from the Harvard Kennedy School.
In addition to direct funding, the grant will support a co-sponsored impact study to assess the broader societal benefits of women-led social enterprises. Kiva and Boundless Futures Foundation will also collaborate on strategic efforts to identify and address systemic barriers faced by female founders.
Also read: Who is Marissa Mayer? The Sunshine CEO was Google’s first female engineer before focusing on AI
Also read: The femtech revolution: From period apps to personal empowerment
Why it’s important
Women-led businesses play a crucial role in addressing global challenges but face significant financial barriers. Despite their potential for economic and social impact, female entrepreneurs receive only a fraction of venture capital funding.
By establishing a revolving loan fund, Kiva aims to provide a sustainable financial mechanism that enables female-led enterprises to grow and scale their impact. This fund ensures continuous reinvestment into women-led businesses, creating long-term financial support for social entrepreneurs.
Additionally, the co-sponsored impact study will offer insights into the effectiveness of women-led social enterprises, helping to shape future funding models and policies that foster greater inclusion in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Research-driven solutions will help identify key obstacles and create data-backed strategies to reduce gender-based funding disparities.
With Boundless Futures Foundation’s commitment to reshaping grant structures for greater impact, this collaboration presents a strategic effort to bridge the gap in funding access. The initiative not only provides capital but also aims to remove systemic obstacles hindering women entrepreneurs’ growth.
