Judith was a street vendor selling mangoes and avocados in Rwanda who dreamed of opening a store to expand her business. Jonah, in Kenya, could not afford to buy enough seeds and fertilizer to properly farm his four-acre plot of land. And Nazgul in Kyrgyzstan wanted to increase her herd of cows to better provide for herself and her family.

These are just a few out of the thousands of people who have turned to Kiva for small loans to create successful small businesses.

And this fall HP employees helped Judith, Jonah, Nazgul, and many other entrepreneurs by making micro-loans through the Matter to a Million program — thanks to a partnership between the HP Foundation and Kiva.

Matter to a Million is an innovative five-year program in which HP employees around the world are given a $25 USD Kiva credit each year to make a loan to a borrower in one of the countries where Kiva operates. In addition to making individual loans, groups can pool their credits to make one bigger loan to a Kiva borrower.

Now in its fourth year, HP employees have loaned more than $11.2 million to help more than 730,000 borrowers in over 80 countries make a better life for themselves and their families.

To help boost participation, HP employees receive additional incentives. For example, once employees make a loan, they can challenge their colleagues via their personal social media accounts to do the same — earning an additional $25 loan credit.

In addition, 380 employees worldwide volunteered to be Matter to a Million Lending Leaders, helping to build program awareness and bolster participation. As program advocates, they reach out across their work, life, and social media communities to connect with others using marketing materials, including posters they can customize into local languages.

This large-scale employee engagement program is just one of the ways that HP employees are helping bring to life HP’s vision of “making life better for everyone, everywhere.”