Kiva Oakland
We help entrepreneurs to access affordable capital and small business resources.
Oakland has played a catalytic role in Kiva's social impact.
Kiva Oakland
In 2014, Mayor Schaaf led Oakland to be the first city to become a Kiva Trustee, setting the example for cities like San Francisco and Philadelphia. In 2016, Oakland officially became a Kiva City, connecting a deeply-embedded ecosystem of partnerships with technical service providers, business advisers, and incubators to offer options for entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses.
In 2020, the Kiva Hub Oakland (hosted by Centro Community Partners) emerged to provide entrepreneurs and organizations with a local point of contact.
About Centro Community Partners
With 10 years of experience in Oakland, Centro Community Partners is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to build thriving communities by providing underserved, low-income entrepreneurs with entrepreneurship education, one-on-one business advising, mentorship, and access to capital.
Centro provides training programs for entrepreneurs, as well as small business advisors. Through its Entrepreneurship Suite, other organizations can access and be trained to use Centro’s entrepreneurship training programs for entrepreneurs in their own communities.
Oakland is Full of Entrepreneurs
And we love supporting its entrepreneurs! Below are some examples of entrepreneurs we've supported in the past:
Reem’s
Reem’s has become a go-to for Arab street food through our farmers markets across the Bay Area and bakery & restaurant in Oakland. The Kiva loans allowed her to buy her first a food truck and hiring new staff to improve the operation in different locations
Feleciai Skincare
Feleciai started Skincare by Feleciai in 2009 in Oakland, CA as a way to offer friends & family natural, handmade skin care products. It quickly became apparent that there was a need for more than just great products.
Generous support for Kiva San Oakland
We could not positively impact the lives of dozens of local small business owners without the assistance of our trustee and partner network. Our Oakland network is listed below.
