Premal Shah
Indian-American entrepreneur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Premal Shah (born 1975[1]) is an Indian-American entrepreneur who co-founded Kiva, a global poverty alleviation non-profit that has raised over $2 billion for low-income entrepreneurs in eighty countries.[2][3][4]
Premal Shah | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 1975 (age 50–51) Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India |
| Education | Stanford University |
| Occupation | Co-founder Kiva |
Board member of | Center for Humane Technology, Change.org Foundation, Watsi.org, VolunteerMatch |
| Website | Kiva.org |
Early life
Shah was born in Ahmedabad, India, and raised in Minnesota,[5][6] graduating from Irondale High School. He attended Stanford University, where he pursued his interest in economic development, with a specific focus on microfinance.[7] At the London School of Economics he received a research grant to study the microfinance work of the Self-Employed Women's Association.[8]
Career
Shah was an early employee of and principal product manager at PayPal.[9] Building on his college interest in microfinance, Shah took a sabbatical from PayPal in 2004 to prototype a concept of person-to-person microlending in India.[10][11]
Upon his return to Silicon Valley in 2005, Shah joined Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley in launching Kiva and scaling it into a global organization.[12] Kiva has since raised over two billion dollars in loans from over two million lenders in support of over five million entrepreneurs from 62 countries, with a 96% repayment rate. 81% of loans are disbursed to women, and 67% of loan recipients live in rural communities.[3][4]
In addition to serving as president of Kiva, Shah sits on the boards of other non-profit of organizations, including Center for Humane Technology, Change.org Foundation, Watsi, and VolunteerMatch.[13][14] He is considered to be a part of the PayPal Mafia, a group of PayPal alumni who have gone on to found or co-found other successful companies, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Tesla Motors, and Yelp.[15]
Premal is currently listed as a co-founder at renewables.org - an investment platform for renewable energy in emerging markets.[16]
Awards and honors
- Fortune Magazine's 40 Under 40 List.[17]
- Obama White House Champion of Change[18]
- Visionary of the Year Nominee, San Francisco Chronicle[1]
- World Economic Forum - Young Global Leader selection[19]
- Olympic Torch carrier for the 2008 Summer Games[20]
- Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship[21]
- Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs[22]
- In 2024 became an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award; the award was given by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.[23]
Personal life
Premal lives in San Francisco, California, with his wife and two children. He speaks widely about the potential for markets, technology & altruism to address some of society's toughest challenges.[24][25]