Get to Know the Microfinance Industry: Meet Kayla Villnow

In our quest to put a face to the microfinance industry and organize it into local communities, we’re going to profile the individuals working to expand microfinance. Our second interview is with Kayla Villnow. I’ve known Kayla for 15 years since I met her in high school, and she’s remained one of my closest friends ever since. In fact, she’s the primary reason I’m so passionate about microfinance’s role in alleviating poverty, and she wrote the very first post on myKRO.org. Here’s a little bit more about her…

1) What do you do?

I manage the fundraising, communications and marketing efforts for Esperanza International.

2) Why do you do what you do?

I do this because I believe that Esperanza has an exceptional development model and that it is poised for great growth, but that like any young company it will not realize its full potential without the hard work up-front to lay strong foundations and put strong processes and systems into place.

3) What are you most excited about right now?

The organization and steps towards a tighter and leaner operations team than we have ever experienced before.

4) What’s next for you?

Only God knows that.  I would hope that next year we begin preparation for a capital campaign that will allow Esperanza to scale and grow in earnest.

5) What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

Education, access to capital, and women’s empowerment.  Women are the key to lifting up the majority world, and they can do that much quicker if we invest in opportunities that extend education, capital and basic human rights to them.

You can find Kayla and other nearby microfinance supporters via Oh Hey World.

If you work or volunteer in the industry and would like to get profiled, please sign up for an Oh Hey World account – then send me an email at drew at ohheyworld dot com.