Jackley joins SparkLabs Global Ventures

Jessica Jackley has joined SparkLabs Global Ventures as a venture partner. Jackley is the co-founder of Kiva, a p2p microlending website that aims to provide people with affordable capital to start or expand a small business.

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, CA – September 22, 2017 – Jessica Jackley, Co-founder of Kiva (www.kiva.org), has joined SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com), as a Venture Partner. Jessica co-founded the world’s first p2p microlending website to provide people affordable capital to start or expand a small business. To date, Kiva has provided over $1 billion in loans across 85 countries and 2.6 million borrowers at a 97.1% repayment rate.

“”I’m thrilled to join the SparkLabs team. Eager to dive in, connect more deeply with the phenomenal ventures we’ve already backed, and grow our community,” Jessica stated.

Jessica currently teaches Social Entrepreneurship at the Marshall School of Business at USC. She also recently served as Walt Disney Imagineering’s first Entrepreneur in Residence, focusing on projects related to corporate citizenship, the sharing economy, and happiness.

She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a 2011 World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader, and serves as an active board member or advisor for several nonprofit organizations including Habitat for Humanity.

“At Sparklabs, we’ve always strived to be true to our motto of ‘entrepreneurs growing entrepreneurs’. Who better then to have join our team then Jessica Jackley. Through her many entrepreneurial incarnations, Jessica has been early and effective to improve the lives and financial prospects of women, small businesses (ProFounder), the under-banked (Kiva), students (Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society), and future global leader candidates from around the world (World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader). It is unusual to find someone that has impacted so many, so broadly and it is remarkable for all of us to have witnessed that someone do it with the humanity, dedication, drive and innovativeness that Jessica has displayed. She is truly an inspirational figure, and we are all proud to be associated with her at SparkLabs Global. May Jessica’s do-gooder ethos spur all of us to greater heights together, and may our global SparkLabs community be the next to benefit from Jessica’s go-forward efforts.” Jay McCarthy, Co-founder of SparkLabs Global Ventures, explained.

About SparkLabs Global Ventures

SparkLabs Global Ventures is a global seed-stage investment fund. We believe business is now truly global, but most investors are not. Exceptional entrepreneurs that are building strong, category defining companies can be found anywhere. SparkLabs Global is a team of highly experienced entrepreneurs and operators based in London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Singapore and Silicon Valley that will focus on helping our entrepreneurs to develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.sparklabsglobal.com