After the most successful employee engagement campaign in Kiva’s partnership history resulted in $1.2 million in loans deployed to over 19,000 businesses around the world, Visa and Kiva have a lot to celebrate. The campaign is an inspiring example of an employee engagement initiative that not only motivated employees and met corporate goals, but positively impacted the lives of thousands of people and communities globally.
For the fourth year in a row, Visa employees were given credits to lend on Kiva's platform. The partnership was made possible through a grant from the Visa Foundation, allowing every Visa employee to direct a $50 loan to a small business of their choice. Over 23,000 employees participated in the campaign, 85% of Visa’s global employee base, which is the highest engagement rate of any campaign to date.
Campaign engagement tactics
Engaging over 23,000 people dispersed in offices throughout the world is no easy feat. The campaign’s success was attributed to a variety of factors, including strong leadership participation. Visa's leadership team participated at higher levels than previous campaign years and led the way with enthusiasm and excitement for the impact potential of the funds. Michelle Gethers-Clark, Visa's Chief Diversity Officer, kicked off the campaign and followed up with every member of the executive council to ensure they made their loan. Reporting and data also played a major role in the success of the campaign. Visa's team managing the campaign used data effectively, receiving redemption reports from Kiva twice a day and sending it back to the regional leaders, who were able to keep teams at Visa updated with real-time engagement rates. Along with leadership buy-in, Visa’s communications team played a vital role in empowering regional teams to customize and lead the campaign communications according to what worked best for each region. The communications office provided robust toolkits and resources for regional teams to build from, aiding the targeted approach with a central message focused on borrower stories and the potential impact of the initiative. This was also the first year of the campaign where Visa was a hybrid workforce, with 50% of their staff returning to offices and 50% staying remote. Additional tactics that aided in the 85% participation rate included the campaign timing, which began earlier this year to aid in enhanced communications timelines, events including lending lunches, parties, and celebratory breakfasts, digital thermometers and countdown clickers, and a bit of healthy competition between regional offices. Each of these efforts led to more than 5,000 additional employees participating in the campaign compared to 2022.
Visa campaign’s global impact
Beyond the positive impacts of an engaged workforce and a successful campaign and perhaps most importantly, the effort led to real impact for individuals and communities who have been underserved by financial opportunities. The campaign directly supported 19,400+ small and micro businesses with $1.2 million in capital. Loans spanned a variety of sectors, with 32% of Visa employees’ loans going to agriculture and an additional 30% to food.
181 loans made by Visa employees went to borrowers from one of Kiva’s most impactful lending partners, Inkomoko. With a focus on youth-led enterprises (60% of the population in Rwanda is under 24 years old!), refugees, and job creation, Inkomoko is building opportunities for underserved communities in Rwanda. In fact, Inkomoko’s 2021 impact report shows 76% of entrepreneurs who received loans improved their livelihoods through business growth, increases in household food budgets, and asset purchases. Many financial institutions deem lending to refugees and youth without credit histories as risky, and the work that Inkomoko is doing for these populations is essential to the livelihoods of entrepreneurs across Africa. Inkomoko is growing, and growing fast. By 2030, Inkomoko plans to expand to 8 countries across Africa, serve over half a million micro & small businesses, create 825,000 new jobs, and fund over 115,000 investments & loans. 2,098 of Visa employees have supported SMBs through Inkomoko to date.
Corporate social responsibility a force for good
Visa's award-winning partnership with Kiva demonstrates the power of employee engagement campaigns to make a difference in the world. By empowering employees to lend to underserved communities and small businesses, Visa exemplified their commitment to social impact and community development. For the fourth year in a row, this partnership again proves that social impact and business goals do not need to be mutually exclusive. Organizations can both meet their internal engagement goals while leading to positive impact for communities across the globe.
Partner with Kiva
Kiva is eager to continue exploring new approaches to partnerships for global good with partners like Visa. Organizations interested in learning about the possibilities of a partnership with Kiva are encouraged to reach out to partnerships@kiva.org.
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