Lendahand Blog

Written by Femke Rutgers on 25 November 2020

People worldwide have been investing since the 16th century, but did you know that women invest 40% less than men on average? Let's dive into this imbalance.

Written by Femke Rutgers on 23 November 2020

Melissa was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa. After obtaining her legal degree at the University of Pretoria, she spent three years in private legal practice, whereafter she joined the corporate world as an in-house legal advisor. For most of her career, she's been active in the renewable energy space. She has two amazing kids and dogs, and a bucket list item for her would be to see the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant in Iceland. Her favorite travel destinations are the Kruger National Park and the Western Cape.

Written by Femke Rutgers on 9 November 2020

Today’s “Five Minutes With” interview features Adriaan, who gave up the sunny grounds and dark basements studying experimental physics at the California Institute of Technology to join Lendahand in the middle of the pandemic. Apart from working on data, technology, and investments at Lendahand, he enjoys rock climbing.

Written by Lynn Hamerlinck on 5 November 2020

When you travel to a country like Uganda, you prepare yourself for a string of buses, minivans and boda-boda’s to get around. But as a local, you want reliable and safe options to commute to work or to get to an appointment on time. How do you get from A to B?

Written by Lynn Hamerlinck on 27 October 2020

One year ago we moved to our office on Eendrachtsplein in Rotterdam. Lendahanders love their office. On our blog, we tell you all about what makes it so unique.

Written by Koen The on 23 October 2020

Our CEO Koen The stated in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool that ordinary people, small savers, and investors with (small) targeted capital injections can make a difference in developing countries. Read on to know more.

Written by Lynn Hamerlinck on 26 October 2020

If you didn't get the chance to participate in our latest webinar or forgot to take notes, we summarized the highlights for you. Our colleagues Thomas Plaatsman and Lucas Weaver talked about the situation and effects of COVID-19 in the emerging countries where our portfolio companies are based.

Written by Femke Rutgers on 26 October 2020

Today we introduce you to Vini in our second interview of our “Five Minutes With” series. Vini is Brazilian, and among other interesting facts, he learned to program when he was only 11 years old and initially studied game development.

Written by Femke Rutgers on 12 October 2020

Lendahand has almost doubled in size in the last 1,5 years. Time for a re-introduction of our team! Starting in this series is our newly appointed CFO: Daniel van Maanen. Daniel joined our company this January (how much the times have changed since then..), has a background in investments and was the CFO at his previous company Aircrete.

Written by Lynn Hamerlinck on 7 October 2020

It might sound surprising that while the pandemic is affecting economies and households all over the world, solar home systems are in high demand in Africa. But when you suddenly start spending all your time at home, light and electricity become priorities.

Written by Lynn Hamerlinck on 23 September 2020

Over the past few years, the Lendahand portfolio has diversified significantly. You can directly fund entrepreneurs from several different industries, such as agriculture or solar energy. Additionally, you can also visit our platform for perhaps the best-known form of financing in emerging markets: microfinance institutions (MFIs).

Written by Lucas Weaver on 8 September 2020

Our newest investment opportunity comes to us from Kenya in the form of iProcure, the largest agricultural supply chain platform in rural Africa.

After almost 10 years I have decided to step down from the Lendahand Board. Thanks to my wife Esther, I had the opportunity to follow my heart and become a social entrepreneur. Thanks, Pipi Longstocking :), for that advice. Without much relevant knowledge or experience, I began on my journey to make an impact in the world, especially those who really need it.

Written by Lily Zhou on 21 August 2020

The housing market is volatile and sensitive, no matter the country. While this fragility makes buying or selling property complicated enough already, this process is even more difficult for people in developing countries like Cambodia. Most Cambodian households don’t have access to formal housing finance, and commercial banks that do provide home loans generally only offer them to wealthier Cambodians. Luckily, there are some organizations that function as a safety net for these underserved families. A fine example of one of those organizations is our newest partner First Finance Cambodia.

Providing emerging markets, especially in Sub-Saharan countries, with social, economic and humanitarian aid has been a top priority for the West since the ‘60s. The idea has always remained the same; donating large amounts of money will close the savings gap. However, research has shown that foreign aid doesn’t necessarily make for a better world. It can actually do more harm than good. How is Lendahand any different?

Written by Michelle Heah on 11 June 2020

As of today, we are introducing a new partner on our platform: YAK Fair Trade. With this new addition, not only are we diversifying our portfolio of partners, we are also opening the door to an entirely new sector on Lendahand.

Here are some astonishing numbers. Approximately three billion people lack access to clean cooking solutions. They are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution. On top of that, 840 million people live without electricity, of which 50% live in Sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations wants to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all. We’re proud to introduce you to three of our partners who do just that.

What affects one person anywhere, affects everyone everywhere. Coronavirus has shown that what we need is more collective action. We need a common response, involving each and everyone. As human beings we need to realize that we’re all in this together and that we are inevitably part of a species. If we fall back into nationalism, as is currently taking place, we are giving away the chance to really promote change. What can we do today?