Jessica Jackley: $3 Billion in Loans that Changed The World (Kiva Co-Founder)

High Five Energy Founders · Feb 26, 2026 · 44m

Jessica Jackley, Co-Founder of Kiva, reveals: How a $3,100 pilot with 7 friends in Uganda became $3 billion in micro loans — and why she never set out to be an entrepreneur.

THE REAL STORY: Jessica wasn't chasing a startup. She stumbled into a lecture about microfinance, moved to East Africa with no plan, and spent months interviewing borrowers living on a few dollars a day. What she heard changed everything. She and her co-founder Matt launched Kiva with a self-written press release, no PR budget, and a handful of Ugandan entrepreneurs who needed a few hundred dollars. Within weeks, blogs…