The scarcity mentality has been steadily run out of this organization -- for the better.  We are 11 strong now and are moving to an office 3 times the size of our current facility. In a month we will be 4 blocks down the road.  We are still in the mission for sure; however, we are dangerously far from Blowfish Sushi.  This could potentially put the 70% off Sushi deal at risk..

My life has definitely taken on a different rhythm.  I haven't pulled an all-nighter in months and I go to bed at 11 or so every night.  All the mad energy of our years in business I have been channeling back into my relationship.   Jessica is just about to graduate from the Stanford GSB so we have been spending most of our times together relishing our last days living in a cottage in the woods near Stanford.  It's been amazing.  In June, we'll be moving back to the city a short walk from where we work.

We were on CNN last week.  A short 2 minute segment keeps rotating during Anderson Cooper airings.  It's playing over and over today and causing quite a stir on our website.  As of 11 AM we've already done about $20K in business.  This won't be a record day, but close. 

CNN called us 'heroes'.  This is awkward, to say the least.  I've had to deal with a series of wise cracks from old friends who by chance saw the segment.  I look emotional in the piece.  I was emotional.  Those CNN interviewers really know how to get you in a sensitive mood. 

This we had the first Iraqi Businesses on the site. Our partner in Iraq is Iraqi Al-Aman center / Kirkuk . They are a USAID-funded MFI that is currently being protected, in part, by the US military.

Check it out. This man is using his loan to rebuild his electronics store after it was ruined by terrorists. His face has been masked in Photoshop in order to protect his identity.



This entrepreneur is a young man who owns a small computer and CD shop in Kirkuk. Two months ago, terrorists attacked his shop, and it was totally burned to the ground.

He wants to get back to work with the help of a loan from Al-Aman. He has two adorable children and he wants to send them to school. His son is 7 years old and his daughter is 5 years old. Al-Aman is very focused on helping this business, and wants to get the entrepreneur back to work. The Al-Amam staff is excited to see him get back to work and make money while paying back the loan.

Note: This entrepreneur is from a volatile region where the security situation remains unsettled. Personally identifiable attributes of this entrepreneur have been altered to protect him or her (i.e. blacking out portions of the entrepreneur in his/her picture, altering his/her first or last name, etc.).



Microfinance has a reputation as being relatively immune to political crises. Micro-borrowers operate in the informal sector and often buy and sell goods that fulfill the most basic needs of a population. In times of crisis, needs traditionally met through more formal channels often are largely shifted to more informal means. Kiva will be a good place to turn in the next few months to see if this dynamic plays itself out in Iraq.

The Iraqi loans went live on the site last week and were funded in an average of 13 hours. In about a half a day, our user base funded about $9000 in Iraqi loans. These days, the average loan takes about 1.5 days to fund on Kiva.org, so the Iraq factor turned out to be quite an accelerator. I guess political instability can be a positive within Kiva's inverted economy...

Last week I heard some terrible news. Jedidah Waigwa, who runs Women's Economic Empowerment Consort (WEEC) in Kenya, suddenly died from a heart attack.

WEEC works just outside Nairobi and finances small enterprises started by mostly Maasai women. WEEC is our first partner MFI in Kenya and one of our first partners overall. Since beginning with WEEC, Kiva has funded almost $500K worth of businesses with them while helping to reduce their cost structure. WEEC is certainly our first partner to scale up with Kiva in Africa and have paved the way for many more. Jedidah took a chance with Kiva early on and many others in the region are beginning to benefit from the precedent she set last year. We now have around 20 African partners.

I last saw Jedidah in October during the Kiva Frontline trip to East Africa. Since that time, we've sent dozens of visitors out there -- including Jessica who spent a day with Jedidah in April. During our short friendship, she struck me as an incredibly smart woman who intimately ran every aspect of her organization.

This is the first time in our short history that a good friend and business partner has passed away. From so far away, it's pretty hard to make this real in my mind. She seemed so incredibly alive last time I saw her.

This is certainly a big hit to Kiva, WEEC and the women they serve.