Muhammad Yunus is the man behind the microfinancing concept. Yunus is a Bangladeshi economics professor who saw what poverty was doing to ravage his home land. People all around him were struggling because they were in debt to loan sharks by as little as $25. Banks don't make loans that small, so loan sharks would take advantage of would-be entrepreneurs.

Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank to help fund these microloans, and for his efforts, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. In 2004, Jessica Flannery saw an announcement from Stanford University that Yunus would be in town to speak one Wednesday night, so she convinced her (then) fianc Matt to attend with her. The decision would change their lives forever.

At that time, Matt was working for TiVo making software. He had never heard of microfinance, but decided to attend for Jessica's sake. What the two of them heard started the wheels spinning in their minds. They knew there was something big to be done. For a year, they brainstormed about how to get Kiva off the ground.

During the first year of their marriage, Jessica spent several months in Africa. Matt decided to join her, and he was amazed at what he saw. It's common for Americans to get million dollar loans to start a business, but in the poorest parts of Africa, people need more like $100. With this money, they can become seamstresses, open bicycle repair shops, or provide food with a small retail store.

The drive to own a business and better your family's life is just as strong whether you're in a rich country or a poor one. Matt was an aspiring entrepreneur himself, so he immediately saw how much he had in common with the people he interviewed.

One night, after a year of brainstorming, Matt and Jessica were in America thinking about the people they'd met in Africa. They decided to jump on their idea by creating a website. They had already received quite a few negative comments from people, but it was their passion that told them Kiva would work.

Today, www.Kiva.org is more successful than anyone thought possible. Individuals around the world can lend as little as $25 to help people start a small business. There are profiles and success stories to help lenders choose. When the loans are repaid, lenders can keep their money or re-lend it to someone else. In two years, Kiva reached over 250,000 people with loans totaling more than $25 million.