Dries Buytaert

Ten years ago, I joined Kiva, a platform for crowdfunding loans for the unbanked.

In those ten years, I made 500+ loans. I'd like to think I've helped 500+ people improve their life.

To be clear: this is a form of charitable giving, and not a financial investment. I don't earn any interest from these loans and occasionally lose some or all of my principal.

More than 1.5 billion people around the world are unbanked. 500 loans is still a drop in the bucket.

To celebrate my 10-year Kiva membership, I added more funds to Kiva. I plan to make at least 1,500 loans the next 10 years — 3 times the amount of my first ten years.

If you have the means, and you want to help build towards a financially inclusive world, consider joining Kiva.