Kiva.org co-founder Jessica Jackley believes in the power of stories, so it was no surprise that she started her recent talk at SAP in Palo Alto to kick off the company’s Month of Service with an inspirational tale about a young man she met in Africa named Patrick.
Starting a business with nothing but dirt…literally
“Patrick started with nothing but the dirt beneath his feet in a refugee camp,” she said, “but he decided to dig it up, dry it and begin selling bricks, making just a few cents a day. With his earnings, he bought a brick mold and slowly he built his business, hired his brother and cousin and eventually left the camp to set up his own home.”
Belief in an entrepreneurial spirit that is universal
Why does Patrick’s story matter? Building on her 2010 TED talk, “Poverty, money- and love,” which has been viewed over 1.2 million times, Ms. Jackley explained that Patrick’s journey illustrates the power of entrepreneurial spirit to shift the focus from deprivation and despair to possibility and hope.
Jackley’s definition of an entrepreneur is someone who, “pursues opportunity regardless of resources currently available.” Thus anyone with vision and perseverance can become an entrepreneur, including Patrick and the millions of others like him around the world that are willing to take a leap of faith to change their circumstances.
A philosophy grounded in experience with microenterprise
Ms. Jackley explained to the audience at SAP that her philosophy about how to end poverty comes from the years she spent building the website Kiva.org.
Kiva.org, which facilitates ‘micro loans’ as small as $25 to help budding entrepreneurs around the world build small businesses, has completed over $700 million in micro loans from about 1.3 million lenders since the site was founded in 2005. The repayment rate on Kiva.org- almost 99% – encourages lenders to continue supporting people like Jose Manual in Columbia, who needs $250 to build a pigsty and grow his pig business.
Jose Manual is an entrepreneur looking for a loan on Kiva.org. Photo courtesy of Kiva.org.
Investing in the power of individuals to change their lives
Can these tiny investments really make a difference when people are facing entrenched obstacles such as lack of education, war, political instability and more? Jackley said that she had the same doubts before traveling to Africa. “Based on the images of poverty I had seen, I expected to feel depressed and overwhelmed,” she said, “But instead I encountered people with natural entrepreneurial spirit who were engaged in making their lives better. I saw how important it is to hear and understand a different story about what is possible.”
Jackley’s message: everyone has something to give…and receive
During the Q&A with Roger Quinlan, SAP’s Senior Vice President for Global Strategic Services, SAP employees were eager for advice about how to put Jackley’s inspirational ideas into action. Jackley advocated humility and connection, encouraging people to, “Find someone you want to help and ask them what they need.”
“I once doubted a woman in Africa who told me she needed to buy sugar,” Jackley explained, “But she was correct because with that sugar she could serve tea, which was key to attracting customers and building her business. I learned to listen rather than assume I knew everything.”
Jackley closed by encouraging SAP employees to “blur the lines” between those who give and those who receive. “We are all in this together,” she said, “Everyone has all something they need and something to offer.”
Jessica Jackley is the co-founder of Kiva.org and has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is also the author of a new book called, “Clay Water Brick: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs Who Do the Most with the Least,” which was published in June 2015. She spoke at SAP’s Palo Alto office on October 2, 2015.
