Funded by skin-care company Dermalogica, Kiva is offering 4,000 trial loans from lenders to women borrowers in celebration of the 101st International Women’s Day. The first 4,000 registrants will be able to make a loan of $25 free of charge.
Kiva and Dermalogica have recently joined forces to launch this loan program called joinFITE worth $100,000 in funding. These free trial loans are disbursed to borrowers in the same way other loans are disbursed on Kiva. But since Dermalogica is funding the free trial, any repayment of the funds will go back to Dermalogica, instead of the lender.
“By contributing to the success of an entrepreneurial woman who has overcome obstacles most of us cannot even truly imagine, we discover so much more about our own resiliency, possibility, and potential,” said Jane Wurwand, founder of Dermalogica and the inspiring force behind the company’s joinFITE program. “Each of us has a part to play and together we can have a personal impact on thousands of women’s lives this International Women’s Day, and every day.”
Kiva estimates that more than one billion people live in extreme poverty and 75% of them are women and girls. The company has been making loans as little as $25 to low-income entrepreneurs and families since 2005.