I Prize Peace: Meet Jessica Jackley

© Epic, 2010

Prized for Co-Founding Kiva and ProFounder

"The stories we tell about each other matter very much."

Jessica Jackley majored in philosophy and political science. She never expected to change the world--especially through business. However, attending a lecture by Muhammad Yunus was all it took to change that. For the first time, she was introduced to the concept of microfinance, a system of providing small loans and other banking services to the poor...and she loved it.

In fact, Jessica was so excited about microfinance that she quit her job to spend three months working for Village Enterprise Fund in East Africa. Her job was to interview microloan recipients to evaluate how the loans had impacted their lives. The results were impressive, and she was thrilled to see the dignity that microfinance programs offered to these otherwise-ignored entrepreneurs.

When Jessica returned to the US, she wanted to make microfinance available to more would-be borrowers. In the spring of 2004, Jessica and Matt Flannery founded Kiva, the world's first peer-to-peer microlending website. Here's how it works: anyone can go to the website, browse entrepreneur stories and pictures, chose a cause, and make a $25 loan. Simple but revolutionary.

As of today, Kiva has loaned an impressive $175,365,825 to 455,859 entrepreneurs in 54 countries. The current repayment rate is 98.99%. With Kiva running successfully, Jessica has moved on to another exciting project. She is the founder and CEO of ProFounder, a website that provides an online platform to help small entrepreneurs in the U.S. raise start-up cash.