MetLife Foundation Provides More Than One-Quarter Million U.S. Dollars to Fund Entrepreneurs

A partnership between MetLife Foundation and Kiva, a global non-governmental organization, to support low-income entrepreneurs around the world saw thousands of employees from MetLife Asia directing micro loans worth USD 263,350. In some of the markets, the ‘Take Action’ campaign saw 100% participation from MetLife employees.

MetLife Foundation made a contribution to Kiva to enable each MetLife employee to direct USD 25 to an entrepreneur who has no access to traditional financing to start, sustain and grow their businesses. MetLife Asia employees directed their USD 25 loan token to help entrepreneurs in the following areas:

 

Categories			Percentage			USD allocation
Women			35.6%			93,825
Agriculture			24.2%			63,600
Youth			17.6%			46,325
Green			22.6%			59,600

 

The Kiva team is currently in the process of disbursing the loans to entrepreneurs in the four categories. With a 96% loan repayment rate, Kiva projects that MetLife Foundation’s original contribution will help many entrepreneurs.

 

Steve Goulart, executive vice president and chief investment officer, MetLife Inc., and interim president of Asia, said: “What our people have done with MetLife Foundation and Kiva truly expresses the heart of MetLife’s great culture and our heritage of helping people and communities. I could not be more proud of our people, and excited that our more than ten thousand loans will play a part in creating opportunity for so many who otherwise would not have had the financial access needed to make a better life for themselves or their families.”

 

MetLife Foundation’s mission is to improve financial lives of low income people around the world by partnering with innovative organizations that promote, create, and expand opportunities for financial health. In 2013, MetLife Foundation committed USD 200 million over five years. In Asia, MetLife Foundation has committed more than USD 50 million in Financial Inclusion grants since 2013 reaching more than 3.8 million low income individuals.

Since its launch, Kiva has directed more than USD 1 billion in microloans by connecting a growing global community of 1.6 million lenders to 2.6 million entrepreneurs across the world with 81% being women. As Kiva borrowers repay their loans, the money can be reinvested so that additional entrepreneurs can receive support further helping increase financial inclusion. (this data is from Kiva website)

 

Kiva is a non-profit organization working to alleviate poverty by connecting people around the world through microlending. With as little as a $25 loan, anyone can help a borrower create new opportunities for themselves and their family. Together with more than 890,000 Kiva lenders and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva has created economic opportunity for more than 975,000 borrowers. Since its inception in 2005, Kiva lenders have funded more than $390 million in loans with a 98.9% repayment rate. Visit www.kiva.org for more information.