I Believe In Giving Back...

As part of my values and belief system, I give back in many ways.  Therapy for women is a way that I give back, but another one of those ways is donating to Kiva.  Your money not only sustains me, but also helps lend funds to small businesses worldwide in an effort to alleviate poverty.  I chose Kiva because, as a small business owner in private counseling, I know what it's like to get off the ground.  I often chose to support women who are needing that extra lift to get started or expand.  Since 2008, your money has helped support ten different women in eight different countries! 

Currently, a portion of my income is being used to support part of a loan for Karen in Alabama.

Here's more about her:

My love of fashion is organic for me as my mom was hugely into fashion when I was growing up. It’s something that we bonded over. For me, it was always the shoes. I always had to have the perfect pair. As I got older, my love of footwear grew more and more. However, starting a shoe line was never in the plans. I’m not a stranger to e-commerce. I’ve owned two e-commerce businesses before Mini Soles. While I enjoyed being a business owner, I was never fulfilled. I’d always sketched designs as a hobby but never had the plans to turn any of them into a prototype. On a whim, I contacted a manufacturer to make one of my designs. I anxiously awaited for the finished product and when it arrived, I knew that I’d found my place. I instantly fell in love with the design process from start to finish. I absolutely loved seeing my designs come to life.

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

My company is Mini Soles and I sell kids footwear. I’m a girl’s footwear designer specializing in footwear for girls ages 2-10. We are an e-commerce business and we’re located in Pelham, AL. The official launch date was September 2020. I decided to start this business after realizing that I could actually design something that I’d grown to love over my lifetime. I’m simply catering to the little girl in me that fell in love with shoes.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS LOAN?

I recently started selling my footwear wholesale and have had great success in doing so. Mini Soles is now in six different locations. However, we are continuing to sell through e-commerce as well. The loan is needed to purchase inventory to keep up with the demand for shoes for both wholesale and retail customers. This loan would allow us to purchase the inventory necessary to take on more wholesale customers as well as continue to supply our retail customers

While Karen's loan through Kiva is almost fully funded, many other women worldwide could use your help.  Here's how to get started.

Taumateina in Samoa.

Here's more about her:

Taumateina is 45 years old and married with 7 children. She has a small vegetable garden where she grows cabbages and tomatoes that she can sell in her community or at the market. She has been doing this for 2 years. Taumateina needs a loan to buy insect poison, fertilizer, a new wheelbarrow, a tiller, a rake, new gloves and a watering hose. She has been a member of SPBD since 2014. Taumateina will use the profits from her sales to pay for her family's weekly expenses.