Audio: Fireside Chat with Kiva.org's Co-Founder

I had fun last night conducting a "fireside chat" at the Portsmouth Public Library with Jessica Jackley-Flannery, co-founder of the enormously successful micro-lending site Kiva. (They frequently have to deal with the problem of too many willing lenders and not enough borrowers, she said.)

We talked about Jessica's career, micro-finance in general, the founding of Kiva, how she has marketed the site (Oprah, Daily Kos, and Boing Boing have all played key roles), and what's next for her. Here's the MP3 of our conversation (it's about an hour long... questions from the audience will be a bit hard to hear, since it was recorded on my iPhone.) Or you can just click the player below.

Kiva Co-Founder in Portsmouth, May 5th

I'll be moderating an event next month with Jessica Jackley-Flannery. She's a co-founder of Kiva, the person-to-person micro-lending Web site that enables people to lend directly to entrepreneurs in the developing world. By 2010, Kiva expects to have facilitated $100 million worth of loans.

If you're interested in micro-lending and social entrepreneurship, this *free* event will likely be up your alley.

It runs May 5th, 5:30 to 7 PM at the Portsmouth (NH) Public Library, with a mixer afterward at the Portsmouth Brewery.

If you plan to attend, you need to RSVP to meagan@borealisventures.com.