Jessica Jackley

What do brick makers, basket weavers, farmers, seamstresses, and so many other hardworking entrepreneurs have to teach us about resilience, hope, resourcefulness, and purpose? And how can these incredible individuals teach our organizations—from nonprofits to small businesses to the Fortune 500s—to foster creativity, manage risk, and rapidly innovate? Highlighting stories and lessons from her recent book Clay Water Brick, Jackley presents a powerful keynote that proposes new, unique business wisdom and reframes existing best practices in atypical, thought-provoking ways. Bright, energetic, and unapologetically optimistic, Jackley challenges us to embrace entrepreneurship as a powerful force for change in the world.

Kiva is one of the fastest-growing, most successful social ventures in history. Since its founding, Kiva has facilitated over $850M in loans to entrepreneurs in the world’s poorest communities, connecting people across 216 countries. And it continues to grow. In the for-profit world, $1B companies are often called “unicorns”—Jackley is one of only a handful of people in the country who can speak to the experience of starting a “unicorn” in the social sector. She shares the inspiring, circuitous, and unlikely story of Kiva’s founding, its hyper-rapid growth, and how she navigated the inevitable twists and turns along the path to success. In this inspiring keynote, audiences learn everything from harnessing the power of social media for social change, to embracing radical transparency, to navigating rapid growth without losing sight of your core values.

In this talk, Jessica Jackley shares the inspirational path that led her, just after graduation, to create Kiva. It’s a story of unorthodox beginnings, surprising growth, and the unprecedented social change that has revolutionized a worldwide microlending movement. Jackley drew on an unlikely background—studying philosophy and art; seeing microfinance firsthand in Africa; earning an MBA while launching Kiva—to become one of the world’s leading female entrepreneurs. And though Kiva's successes can be measured in many ways, Jackley reminds students that Kiva’s most important contribution has been to the thousands of lenders and borrowers who use the site. This connection, based on dignity and respect, is crucial in whatever you dedicate yourself to.

Enthusiastic, grounded, and very relatable, Jackley helps students realize that they, too, can spend their lives doing meaningful work. She shows them how to synthesize their skills to do what they love, design an extraordinary career, and, most importantly, build a truly meaningful life by working entrepreneurially—in any field—in the service of others.