Press releases
Doba Supports Developing World Entrepreneurs
Pass It On: Doba invests unanticipated profit from author event in small business entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide.
15 November 2007Orem, UT - November 15, 2007 - Doba, a leading software company specializing in web-based product sourcing solutions for small to medium size retail entrepreneurs, announced today it would pass on $4,000.00 in unexpected profits from a recent event to Kiva.org. Kiva.org set the standard for online microcredit that connects lenders with borrowers in impoverished communities world-wide. The event, featuring best-selling business author Guy Kawasaki, occurred on November 1st at Salt Lake Community College's Jordan Campus and was presented by Doba and co-sponsored by Connect magazine and the Utah Technology Council (UTC). The $10 entrance fee charged by Doba generated the $4,000.00 surplus. Jeremy Hanks, Doba's co-founder and chairman, announced Doba would be passing the profits along to Kiva.org at the event.
"Some people may call this a donation or charity, but as a fast-growing, small business ourselves, Doba views it as an investment," said Hanks about his decision to pass along the event's profits to other small business entrepreneurs through Kiva.org. "I know first hand what it's like to be a small business entrepreneur, and if we can turn even a small part of Doba's success into success for other small business entrepreneurs in places like Africa, the Ukraine, Lebanon, and Mexico, then we're all better off." Doba is ranked 23rd on the 2007 Inc. 500 List of the Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies in America, and is also ranked #1 on the MountainWest Capital Network 'Utah 100' list of the fastest-growing companies in the state of Utah.
Kiva.org has been promoted by former president Bill Clinton and featured in major media outlets such as network news, CNN, NPR, the Wall Street Journal Online, Business Week, and many others. "Doba's investment as an excellent example of small business entrepreneurs reaching out to other small business entrepreneurs who, while different in circumstance, are like-minded in innovation and passion," said Matt Flannery, Kiva's co-founder and CEO.
Elisapeta Sola is a 21-year old woman who farms and sells her crops in front of her home in Tiavea, Samoa. "The money she makes supports her family and her child's education," Hanks says. "With $350 worth of supplies and equipment for her farm, Elisapeta will be able to grow her business and better provide for her family. This is the spirit of the entrepreneur, and while Doba and Elisapeta may appear to be worlds apart, we at Doba recognize in this season of Thanksgiving that we really aren't that different at all." Sola is just one of eight entrepreneurs that Doba in whom Doba is currently investing. "Our goal," Hanks says, "is to invest in over 200 businesses through Kiva.org in the next 5 years."
About Doba
Doba is a software company providing a Web-based Product Sourcing Platform that automates the e-commerce supply chain through virtual inventory and fulfillment systems. Ranked as one of the Nation's fastest-growing, most innovative software businesses by ranking indices like Inc., Deloitte and MountainWest Capital Network, Doba connects retail merchants to the virtual inventory of over one million products from more than 200 wholesale suppliers. Currently, more than 25,000 merchant retailers and 200 wholesale suppliers use the simplified product sourcing solutions of Doba to transact millions of dollars of B2B e-commerce annually. For more information, visit www.doba.com.
About Kiva.org
Kiva.org (www.kiva.org) is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to an entrepreneur in the developing world. Founded in 2005 by Matt and Jessica Flannery, Kiva.org's mission is to connect people, through lending, to alleviate poverty. Kiva.org currently connects lenders in more than 50 countries with entrepreneurs in 39 developing countries, through 62 microfinance partners. Kiva.org is headquartered in San Francisco.
Press Contact
For more information about Doba's investment in entrepreneurs, or to schedule an interview with Doba Co-founder and Chairman Jeremy Hanks, please contact:
Meagen Ridley
Doba
(801) 765-6105
mridley@doba.com