Simple Ideas and Social Action: KIVA's Jessica Jackley is a Buick Agent of Change

“Simple ideas are often overlooked,” says Jessica Jackley, a social entrepreneur speaker who has just been named one of the 2012 Buick Agents of Change. Jackley is the co-founder of the microlending powerhouse KIVA, where she turned a simple idea (lending developing world entrepreneurs the exact amount of money they need, say, $25) into a thriving institution promoting social good.

Since its inception in 2005, KIVA has connected entrepreneurs with lenders from all around the world. Beginning with a laptop and only seven employees, Jackley helped create links between over 4 million borrowers and lenders and helped facilitate the exchange of nearly $1 Billion in loans. The renowned social entrepreneur pairs her keen business sense with an insatiable desire to incite positive change—a winning mix that has made her a sought-after speaker with both corporations and small college business classes alike. 

“The main barrier [to social change] is collectively believing that more is possible, and collectively choosing to pursue those best ideas,” Jackley says in the Buick video series, above.

Her peer-to-peer platform, and her ambitious keynotes do just that—promoting the role that even the smallest idea can play in turning entrepreneurial vision into a successful business and, in turn, making the world a better place.