Sofia Vergara Has Been Helping Small Businesses During The Pandemic

Sofia Vergara: Actor Sofia Vergara has been partnered with Kiva, a non-profit group that gives microloans to people in underserved communities around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vergara told People Magazine in the Women Changing the World issue that "I knew I had to do something, something that was going to make a difference, something more than a social media post."

According to Kiva’s website, the service crowdfunds loads and distributes them to people without access to banks or who are unable to access financial services. The loans are eventually repaid and the investors can put their money towards other causes backed by Kiva. More than 152 million dollars have been raised through Kiva’s COVID-19 Response Fund and 228,000 small business owners have been aided. Vergara said "I think it's amazing what you can do with microfinancing. You're giving people the financial tools to do what they need to do."

While speaking to People Magazine, Vergara spoke about her philosophy and how she grew up learning that people need to help and support each other. “If you have, you need to give,” is what Vergara grew up believing.

After the COVID-19 pandemic began, Vergara realised she needed to do something that would make a difference. With the help of her manager, Vergara realised that Kiva was the perfect partnership for her to launch the global fund for COVID-19. “I knew they were going to be able to really help people with microfinancing,” Vergara stated.

Vergara also told the story of a restaurant owner from her Colombia who had opened her restaurant right before the pandemic started. After she reached for Kiva for a loan, she managed to reinvent herself and began cooking and delivery food to people’s homes.