# Kiva CEO Vishal Ghotge on Closing the Opportunity Gap

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/better-good-with-scott-m-curran-7645744/kiva-ceo-vishal-ghotge-on-closing-the-opportunity-gap
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/better-good-with-scott-m-curran-7645744/kiva-ceo-vishal-ghotge-on-closing-the-opportunity-gap.md
Podcast: [Better Good with Scott M. Curran](https://stenobird.com/podcast/better-good-with-scott-m-curran-7645744)
Published: 2026-05-13T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://episode.flightcast.com/01KRF3DCD2J5FD88J2KJ2HA87H.mp3
Audio file: https://episode.flightcast.com/01KRF3DCD2J5FD88J2KJ2HA87H.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/better-good-with-scott-m-curran-7645744/episodes/kiva-ceo-vishal-ghotge-on-closing-the-opportunity-gap
Duration seconds: 3596

## Resource

There are at least 1.4 billion people on this planet with no connection to the financial system, and no way to turn a good idea into a livelihood. Not because they lack talent, drive, or ambition, but because the system simply wasn't built to include them. This massive divide between talent and opportunity is what today's guest is building a bridge across. On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Vishal Ghotge, CEO of Kiva, for a conversation about financial inclusion, microfinance, and what happens when you bet on people the traditional banking system ignores. Kiva has delivered nearly $2.5 billion in loans to over 5 million entrepreneurs in 80 countries, often just $25 at a time, with a 96% repayment rate. Vishal explains how the platform connects everyday lenders with women entrepreneurs, refugees, small business owners in the US, and communities on the front lines of climate change. He traces his own path from Mumbai to Silicon Valley to leading one of the most innovative organizations in global development, and makes a powerful case that talent is universal but opportunity is not. And that closing that gap is one of the most important investments any of us can make. This episode explores themes of financial inclusion, women's empowerment, and refugee entrepreneurship. You can pre-order Scott’s forthcoming book, Better Good, here: https://www.bettergoodbook.com/ Guest: Vishal Ghotge Host: Scott M. Curran Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji Production by Echo Studios Check out our Podcast: ➡️ https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran - Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:22 Early Memories of Doing Good 00:06:16 Growing Up with Inequality in Mumbai 00:08:32 From Mumbai to Microsoft 00:10:49 Groupon and Hel…

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