Business Department students in Carroll College’s Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society recently came together to fund micro-loans for entrepreneurs around the world through the chapter’s Kiva project.
Kiva is a nonprofit organization that partners with local field organizations in developing countries to provide crowdfunded micro-loans to individuals seeking to start or expand businesses, support their families, recover from natural disasters, or pursue educational opportunities.
As part of the project, students evaluated potential loans by considering borrowers’ stories, repayment potential, and the ratings of Kiva’s field partners, which are assessed based on factors such as delinquency rates, default rates, and currency exchange losses.
Carroll’s Sigma Beta Delta chapter ranks in the top 98% of all Kiva lenders and has impacted 812 lives across 44 countries. One entrepreneur in the Congo shared that her loan enabled her to purchase goods, increase profits, pay school fees for her children, and significantly improve her family’s health and quality of life.
Projects like Kiva provide Carroll business students with hands-on experience evaluating real-world financial decisions through the lens of ethics, global engagement, and social responsibility. By connecting classroom learning with meaningful impact, students gain a deeper understanding of how business can serve communities and create positive change around the world.
