FinTech startup Ocrolus partners with Kiva to launch a new lending program to offer zero-interest loans

Ocrolus, a venture-backed FinTech startup that uses Artificial Intelligence and crowdsourcing to automate financial review processes, today announced a new lending program through a partnership with Kiva, a non-profit organization that enables anyone to make zero-interest loans to specific entrepreneurs in over 85 countries.

Ocrolus believes that access to capital can change businesses and change lives. In 2019, through its partners and customers, Ocrolus created a faster application and approval process for over 1.4 million business loans. In fact, over $56.8 billion in loans was funded using data from the Ocrolus platform in 2019.

Founded in 2014 by John Guerci, Sam Bobley, and Victoria Meakin, Ocrolus is a fintech infrastructure company that transforms documents into actionable data with over 99% accuracy. Powered by Artificial Intelligence and a unique, human-in-the-loop data validation process, Ocrolus plugs directly into customer workflows via API, eliminating the need for manual data work. The solution includes built-in fraud detection and analytics, enabling customers to make smarter and faster business decisions with unprecedented scalability and precision.

With the Kiva program, Ocrolus is working with its customers to tell their stories about business lending. For every story published on the Ocrolus website, Ocrolus will provide $5,000 toward Kiva-backed loans. Additionally, Ocrolus is matching customer funding on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to an additional $5,000. Ocrolus has also organized a quarterly bonus funding program which will free up more funds based on customers’ usage of the Ocrolus platform. Once again, customer funding will be matched dollar for dollar by Ocrolus.

“Ocrolus is excited to share this initiative with our client partners,” Ocrolus COO Vikas Dua said. “Through our matching funds program, clients can give back to the global community by sponsoring entrepreneurs, leaders, and dreamers in under-served communities around the world. Ocrolus is committed to leveraging the impact of our fintech platform for social responsibility campaigns, and we’re thrilled to welcome the greater Ocrolus community to join us in supporting Kiva and their mission to alleviate global poverty.”

Kiva is the world’s first and largest crowdfunding platform for social good with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. By lending as little as $25, anyone can help a borrower start or grow a business, go to school and realize their potential. Since 2005, Kiva and its growing global community of 1.7 million lenders have crowdfunded more than $1.1 billion in microloans to over 2.9 million entrepreneurs in 85 countries, with a 97 percent repayment rate.