By Ruth Rohlich
City of Madison

Kiva is an international organization that helps business owners through micro finance. The City of Madison’s Office of Business Resources, in partnership with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, Madison Gas and Electric and others, worked to raise money to make Madison a Kiva City.

Kiva offers business loans up to $10,000, at zero percent interest, to businesses from the community. These loans provide opportunities for businesses to receive financing that may not be available from traditional lenders.

The difference between a Kiva loan and a traditional loan is that Kiva does not require a minimum credit score, years of cash flow records or guarantees. The loan can be used for business expenses. Kiva supports a wide variety of businesses, including farmers, barbershop owners, event planners, restaurants and more.

If you would like to learn more about the new City of Madison program, visit us.kiva.org/greatermadison. If you have any questions for your business, call Ruth Rohlich, City of Madison Office of Business Resources, 267-4933 (limited Spanish).