Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

Kiva CEO On Next Five Years And Why Zynga Is Their Largest Competitor

Do you know who Kiva’s laergest competitor is? If you think it is a non-profit-centric startup, the micro-lending site’s President Premal Shah would let you know that you are very wrong. Kiva’s biggest rival is none other than Zynga, the gaming giant that has created hit games like Farmville and Mafia Wars and many other ubiquitous internet classics. You may be wondering what virtual farming or virtual mafias have got to do with micro-finance, but Premal Shah says that it has a lot to do with it, and that the battle for discretionary income and views is continuous, and with no end in sight.

Shah thinks that over the following 5 or so years, the non-profit will concentrate on the integration of social tools, game mechanics, mobile, and new philanthropic verticals like green and water loans. Shah believes that by 2015, Kiva will collect $1 billion in microloans. That seems like a kinda big goal when you think about it. Kiva raised only $500,000 in microloans in 2005, its first year in operation and in 2006, Kiva gathered $2 million. From those earlier days up to now, it has been a dramatic climb up the mountain for Kiva, which has officially celebrated its 5th anniversary in San Fransisco, the evening of the 14th of October.

Danny Wong manages a great dress shirt startup where wedding dress shirts or interview dress shirts are just a click away, allowing you to customize from the fabric to the cuffs. REcustom, coming soon, will be your favorite custom hub.