To further bolster the initiative, the Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation (IFFF) has established a $50,000 loan matching program on Kiva Zip, half of which will be designated for women-owned small businesses in support of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. Visitors to KivaZip.org can choose a small business owner that they want to support with a loan of $25 or more. That loan helps to crowdfund the borrower’s full loan request. IFFF’s loan matching will match what the public crowdfunds, doubling the public’s impact. As a result, underserved small businesses seeking credit through the QuickBooks Financing platform could get funded twice as quickly. Small business owners featured on Kiva Zip include artisans, immigrants, refugees, veterans, small farmers, neighborhood shops and home-based businesses across the country.

“We are excited about our partnership with Kiva Zip and to offer small businesses the critical capital they need to start and grow their businesses,” said Jeffrey Kaufman, business leader of QuickBooks Financing at Intuit. “This platform serves a segment of small businesses who previously had no, or very limited, opportunities to get the funding they needed. Additionally, we are so pleased the Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation is joining with QBF to help Intuit do even more to support small businesses, in particular helping women-owned small businesses to thrive.”

Kiva is filling a critical lending gap for small business entrepreneurs across the country. The vast majority of small business owners and budding entrepreneurs cannot access the capital they need to start up or expand. They are denied loans for any number of reasons: the loan amount they seek is too small, their business is too young, their plan is too innovative or their credit history is too short or damaged. Kiva Zip loans are offered at 0% interest with no fees, and are available regardless of credit score or type of small business.