Kiva CEO On The Next 5 Years And Why Zynga Is Their Biggest Rival (TCTV)

Who is Kiva's biggest competitor?

If you rattled off a list of non-profit-centric startups, the micro-lending site's President Premal Shah would tell you that you're dead wrong.

Try Zynga, the gaming behemoth that has given rise to Farmville and Mafia Wars and other disturbingly ubiquitous internet classics. What does virtual fertilizer have to do with micro-finance? Shah says a lot: It's a never-ending fight for eyeballs and discretionary income.

"If building a real farm on Kiva can be as compelling as building a virtual farm on Facebook, then I think we've done our jobs really well."

According to Shah, over the next few years, the non-profit will focus on the integration of game mechanics, social tools, mobile and new philanthropic verticals like green and water loans. In terms of numbers, Shah predicts Kiva will raise $1 billion in microloans by 2015. But he will need the best engineers Silicon Valley can offer to do it. Video with Shah ahead.

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