The social impact of crowdfunding and the increasing microlending potential: the case study of Kiva

Abstract

Since 2010, crowdfunding has experienced exponential growth as a consequence of technological innovation in the financial sector. It is considered more efficient and effective than traditional fundraising for multiple reasons such as the opportunity of promoting a project directly on an online platform, where all participants are invited to contribute diverse amount of money until the goal is achieved. Crowdfunding can be applied in numerous scenarios including charity projects, startup businesses, entrepreneur ideas and small companies.

Kiva is an international nonprofit organization and an acknowledged platform in the lending crowdfunding field to support social causes. By donating only $25 to Kiva, contributors can consistently support the development of underserved communities and play a crucial role in someone else’s life. Moreover, participants can also choose the sector to invest in such as women, COVID-19, refugees, education, agriculture etc. Each loan displays a description of the borrower's story, the business, the purpose of the loan and, obviously, the loan details like the funding model and the length.

This thesis presents an examination of the main features of crowdfunding followed by an analysis made possible by Kiva data collection in order to detect which project characteristics most influence the possibility of the borrower to receive the requested loan amount and be completely financed.