DOHA: Silatech and KIVA have announced that Kiva Arab Youth, a joint initiative in which the public can lend directly to young Arab entrepreneurs, has financed over 1,400 new businesses worth $1.7m since the campaign began in March 2012.
Over 38,000 lenders from throughout the world have been mobilised to support young men and women in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Yemen. Visitors to www.kiva.org.arabyouth can lend as little as $25 to the entrepreneur of their choice.
Silatech is a Qatar-based social initiative that promotes large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship, access to capital and markets, and the participation and engagement of young people in economic and social development.
Kiva and Silatech have identified that lending through Kiva to the Arab world is significantly below levels seen in other regions. In response to this fact, Kiva Arab Youth was launched, with the objective of mobilising increased interest and investment in the Arab world through the Kiva platform.
Aince Kiva’s inception in 2005 lenders have provided more than $350 million in loans to 850,000 borrowers worldwide. Loans funded though Kiva have a 98 percent repayment rate.
Kiva Arab Youth within the Arab world, Silatech has initiated a social media campaign focusing on the GCC countries and Jordan. In addition to building an optimised presence on platforms such as Facebook (www.facebook.com/kivaarabyouth) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/kivaarabyouth), the campaign will focus on introducing Kiva Arab Youth to local and regional bloggers.
The Peninsula
