Internet Entrepreneur Jesse Willms Expands His Partnership With The Kiva Foundation: Provides $25,000 Donation

Continuing to transform himself into a philanthropist, Internet marketing professional Jesse Willms donated $25,000 to the Kiva Foundation yesterday in order to help them support aspiring entrepreneurs in developing nations.

Willms said he decided to make the new donation after seeing how effective his initial $1,000 donation to Kiva was this summer.

Kiva is a non-profit microfinancing organization dedicated to helping impoverished people in developing nations start their own small businesses, so they can escape the cycle of poverty.

There are thousands of people around the world who would love to start their own companies, but lack the start up funds. Even though these businesses need very little money to get off the ground - often less than $300 - most banks are unwilling to lend them the cash they need.

Kiva bridges the gap by allowing those who do have the resources to provide the “micro loans” that make their companies possible. The organization has a very strong track record – with more than 98 percent of their loans being paid back in full.

Willms’ latest donation will allow 250 people to get the cash they desperately need to break the cycle of poverty. He said that as each loan is paid back, he will use that money to sponsor additional entrepreneurs. By the end of the year he hopes to have helped several hundred entrepreneurs launch successful companies.

He said that he believes the loans don't only help the people who receive them – they also allow those entrepreneurs to become an inspiration to their entire communities and become living proof that it is possible to escape poverty.

Willms said he respects their goals because he remembers how he felt when he started his own successful company, selling computers and software online when he was only 16 years old. Six years later he had launched several Internet companies.

This summer he was inspired to become a philanthropist when he heard Bill Gates and Warren Buffett challenge successful business people to donate their time and money to charitable organizations. 

Since then he has supported multiple charities, including:

• World Vision
• The Breast Cancer Research Fund
• The Gulf Coast Restoration Fund
• Boston Children's Hospital
• The Nevada YMCA
• The Pajama Program
• Big Brother/Big Sisters Of Canada
• Samaritan’s Purse

He encourages other entrepreneurs to follow his lead and do what they can to support the global community by partnering with reputable charitable organizations.