We just celebrated our 4th anniversary and the many wins along the way, especially those of the small business owners we support. Four years ago Kiva was an expensive hobby and I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to my community. During 2018 we started Causa Local and began to grow our Kiva portfolio. We now serve over 250 low-to-moderate income small business owners in Puerto Rico. We have deployed over $2 million in Kiva loans with a total economic impact of over $2.7 million in the local economy. Our small business owners have been able to scale up and improve their financial health and capacity, which gives us so much more to celebrate. We have created long-term relationships with many of our first fully-funded borrowers who have already repaid their first Kiva loan, and our now scaling-up parallel to us.
The best decision I made was to grow Kiva in Puerto Rico and start Causa Local. Many have asked me if I was crazy to leave my promising corporate career. But, the way I see it you only live once, so to live without regrets, you have to take risks.. Our team and Board of Directors are amazing. They have supported us and always give the extra mile. Rafael Flores, our President was that button pusher in 2017 who told me just do it and don't procrastinate. Anna Karina Lawson helped from day 1 and is now our Operations and Events Guru. I didn't do this alone, and will always be grateful, loyal, and hopeful to the people that have helped Causa Local along the way. Thank you to my father who always trusted me. May he rest in peace. My mom who I love more than words can say, my sisters, my partner and his amazing four-year old son are what keeps me going non-stop. Thank you.
