Gather a group of Kiva Detroit entrepreneurs around a table and what do you get? Well, that's what we at Michigan Corps were curious to see! About a year ago, we launched Kiva Detroit to give our Corps members everywhere a chance to lend $25 at a time to Detroit's entrepreneurs. On Friday the 13th, contrary to popular belief, it seemed that luck was on our side when we hosted our first Kiva Detroit business roundtable at D:Hive. With a small but motivated group of community-minded entrepreneurs, the room buzzed with stories of business challenges, successes, ideas, and recommendations for ways to thrive as a local Kiva Detroit business!


One thing was for sure; these businesses had a new level of confidence after having the opportunity to share their story with the world on kiva.org/Detroit! It's a powerful thing to see citizens everywhere get behind your business concept, product or service, and we mean literally, with $25 at a time. Our business roundtable participants all happened to be located in their homes, which meant that a Kiva Detroit loan also proved important in elevating their business visibility in the community!


Amidst laughter here and there, we saw a great deal of mutual support and encouragement emerging with those present. Perhaps that's what these entrepreneurs really came for: a new infusion of energy and encouragement with those who can certainly sympathize with the pains and gains of running a small business. With some new e-intro's on the way, business cards exchanged, and excitement to be part of the Kiva Detroit community, we thought our first roundtable got things off to a great start!