The City of Fremont has moved into the spotlight as an extraordinary location for advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and clean technology where some of the best of the best in innovation is coalescing. Thus it is not surprising that the City participates in social innovations that create new public-private partnerships, strengthen opportunities for struggling families, and use the latest finance innovation: crowd-sourcing.

First, a little background. The Fremont Family Resource Center (FRC), a local gem, supports individuals and families facing difficult challenges by providing counseling and referrals to resources to help improve their economic opportunities. Through the SparkPoint Fremont program located at the FRC offices, staff offer financial coaching, free tax preparation, peer lending circles, and matched savings accounts to assist low and moderate income individuals to increase their assets, receive financial education, and grow self-sufficiency skills.

This is why SparkPoint Fremont is a proud trustee for Kiva Zip, a non-profit that offers 0% interest micro loans for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the United States through crowdfunding. Knowing that small businesses are the backbone of the national and local economy, SparkPoint Fremont looks to support individual entrepreneurs with microenterprise assistance.

Here’s how it works. First time borrowers can receive a loan of up to $5,000. As a business grows, borrowers can then receive up to $10,000. There arethree principle aims of the Kiva Zip program:

1. Expanding access to capital

Kiva Zip supports entrepreneurs who would not qualify for conventional loans. Kiva Zip doesn’t use traditional measures of loan credit-worthiness, such as credit scores or profit and loss statements, but rather looks at a borrower’s character and reputation.

2. Lowering the cost of capital

Kiva Zip offers 0% interest loans by leveraging technology to streamline the application process, and loan disbursals and repayments. Reliance on character over conventional financial criteria in assessing loan applications also helps keep costs down, facilitating lower interest rates for borrowers.

3. Connecting entrepreneurs with a global community

Loans are funded by a network of over one million individual lenders on the Kiva Zip website, connecting entrepreneurs with supporters who can be potential brand ambassadors, customers, or mentors. Kiva Zip’s community of borrowers, lenders and Trustees can all communicate in one space, creating an interactive and supportive environment.

Kiva Zip loans can be used for any business purpose, such as investing in new equipment, purchasing inventory, hiring staff, expanding product lines, marketing or advertising, etc. The FRC’s first Kiva Zip SparkPoint borrower Catrina R. Rivera, Fast Tax Service is currently using her loan to grow her business, while making her monthly loan payments to reimburse the Kiva Zip lenders. Interested entrepreneurs and lenders are encouraged to learn more by visiting visit Kiva and Kiva Zip or by calling SparkPoint Fremont at 510-574-2020.