Kiva loan application guide

We are proud to partner with Kiva, a leading non-profit crowd-lending platform we have worked with for years, and are excited to support you in applying for a Kiva loan. The Mona team will be CCed on your emails with Kiva and will be here to support you in everything you need to successfully complete the application and hopefully get funded. Loan sizes range from $1,000 to $15,000, and the time from applying to receiving funding is typically 30-60 days.

Please read this Kiva Application Guide carefully and reach out to your Mona Coach by email at any point if you have questions or need advice.

Application link here.

Step 0 – Double-check your eligibility

The Mona team pre-confirmed your eligibility, but it doesn’t hurt to double check based on the more detailed list of criteria from Kiva:

  • You must be at least 18 years of age

  • You must not currently be in foreclosure, bankruptcy, or under any liens.

  • You must not have a violent or financial criminal conviction in the last 5 years, and must not be a registered sex offender

  • You must reside and operate your business in the United States.

  • Your business cannot be registered in the states of Nevada or North Dakota.

  • You must not be a contract worker of a corporation (e.g., AirBnB, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc.)

  • You must be seeking a loan for business purposes other than refinancing debt and purchasing stock or equity

  • Your business must not be of a type deemed ineligible for a Kiva loan. Some examples are:

    • Federally illegal activities (e.g., gambling, hemp-related products)

    • Businesses related to tobacco, pawn-shops, weapons, multi-level marketing, direct selling, cryptocurrencies, drones, or adult entertainment

  • You must have, or be willing to create, a PayPal account (that’s how you will receive as well as repay your Kiva loan)

  • You must be willing to get a small number (usually 15-30) of your friends, family, clients, and/or business partners make a $25 loan on your Kiva page during your Private Fundraising Period

Step 1 – Gather your materials

During the application, you will need three key items:

  • A horizontally oriented photo that shows you and your business (good examples of fellow Mona entrepreneurs here and here)

  • Your articles of incorporation or another government-issued incorporation/licensing document that has your name and address on it

  • A recent monthly business bank statement, if you have a separate business bank account

Step 2 – Apply, and then email your Mona Coach

Next you are ready to begin the Kiva application:

  • You will be prompted to create a Kiva account. If you need to get back to the application page after creating your account and are not sure how to, click here again to return.

  • Here are some key pieces of guidance on specific application fields, based on best practices we have seen that will maximize your likelihood of success:

    • When asked about how you heard about Kiva, select "Kiva Trustee" and then select "Mona"

    • Given the 0% interest rate, we generally recommend applying for the maximum amount of $15,000, as long as you have a genuine need for the money

    • When asked about credit card minimums, make sure you are submitting the minimum due on your credit card each month to keep your account open (not the actual payments you are making)

    • Use your Mona Coach’s reviewed and refined answers in their email to you for the Personal Story, Business Story, and Loan Usage components. Make sure to add as required to reach the word count minimums

    • Make sure the photo of you that you upload is horizontally oriented and shows your business (good examples of fellow Mona entrepreneurs here and here)Make sure that you upload your articles of incorporation or another government incorporation/licensing document that has your name and address on it. If you don’t have one single document that has both your name and address on it, submit multiple government-issued documents to help expedite the review process

    • Make sure you upload a recent business bank statement if you have a separate business account

  • Electronically sign and click “submit” to ensure your application is transmitted; check your email for a confirmation from Kiva

  • Send an email to your Mona Coach letting them know you submitted

Step 3 – Check email for application review team questions

It’s likely you’ll have at least one or two requested edits or clarifications from the Kiva review team. Make sure you are monitoring your email daily and respond quickly to the requests – usually by logging back into your Kiva application, making the required edits, and resubmitting. The Mona team will be CCed on these emails and can help you understand what you need to do next if you need help.

If and when you are approved, you will electronically sign the lending agreement from Kiva.

Step 4 – Complete the Private Fundraising Period (PFP)

Finally, after you are approved, you have one last step required. You'll move into the "Private Fundraising Period" (PFP) stage, where our team and you will collaborate to get the required 15-30 or so lenders to lend $25, allowing you to advance to the "Public Fundraising Stage" (this lent amount will be repaid to them monthly on the Kiva platform as you repay your loan). Once you reach this stage, you will likely get your loan – Kiva generally provides support to ensure that, even if your loan is not at 100% by the end of the 30 days, you will still get funded.

Step 5 – Set up automatic repayments on PayPal

Make sure you follow your Kiva emails’ instructions on setting up automatic repayments via PayPal. See here for all details about repayments.

It is critical that you make your repayments on time because you are eligible for a second Kiva loan at double the size of your first loan (up to the maximum of $15,000) if you make timely repayments. You are pre-approved for that second Kiva loan once you are finished repaying your first loan, as early as six months after your first loan (if you pay back early).

FAQs

  • The vast majority of U.S.-based, registered small businesses are eligible. There is no minimum credit score requirement. For more specific requirements, see “Step 0” above.

  • Correct! Kiva is a non-profit and is committed to providing 0%-interest, $0-fee loans.

  • You’ll apply on Kiva’s site as described above and receive personal support from the Mona team throughout the process, as well as Mona's endorsement as a Trustee. This is a crowd-lending process, so your loan amount is funded by a combination of individual lenders on the Kiva platform, matching institutions (e.g., Bank of America), and Kiva U.S.

    During the “Private Fundraising Period,” you will need to get ~15-30 of your friends/colleagues/family members/etc. to go on your Kiva page and lend $25 (which will be paid back to them monthly on the Kiva platform as you pay back your loan).

    Once our entrepreneurs get past this stage and move to the “Public Fundraising Period,” almost 100% of loans we endorse are fully funded and distributed. This is because, at that stage, the broader network of millions of Kiva lenders and sponsoring institutions contribute to the loan amount.

  • The approved loan amounts we see typically vary from $2,000 to $15,000. Our partners at Kiva will determine the size of the loan based on the details in your application. We encourage you to apply for as much as you need.

  • For more details on the process and requirements, read here at the Kiva U.S. website. See here for examples of entrepreneurs that have been supported so far.