A Day in the Life of our Colleagues From the Investments Team at Lendahand

When you take a look at the Lendahand platform, you see projects that inspire you to invest in the most diverse businesses across the world. From providing microfinancing to entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan to backing cooperatives in Latin America that strengthen small farmers, projects on Lendahand can be exciting to invest in for sure. But how do these projects actually come up online? 

Who makes sure the projects are impactful and trustworthy for you to invest in? That’s the work of our Investments Team. Our small team ensures every project meets our standards and are looking forward to sharing their way of working with you. 

We spoke with Investment Managers Manan and Charles to hear what their days look like and how they bring new opportunities to you.

 

Good Morning From… India and Spain

At the moment of writing, both colleagues are working from their favorite locations. In India, Manan’s mornings begin early. “The time difference rules my day,” he laughs. “I’m mainly responsible for the borrowers and projects in Asia, the Pacific region, and Central Asia. And Asia is already awake when I log in! I need to make sure to get the most pressing communication done before they end their day.” Together with his morning coffee, Manan first clears his inbox: updates from existing partners, follow-ups on new prospects, and data needed for due diligence.

A couple hours later, Charles starts his day in Spain. He has some time to finish off work before Latin America wakes. Our Spanish speaking colleague is in charge of monitoring the Lendahand partners in the region his corazón beats faster for. His mornings are often dedicated to reviewing financial reports and following up with local partners. “Monitoring is a lot more than just checking numbers,” Charles says. “It’s also about understanding what’s happening on the ground and building a strong relationship with our borrowers.”

 

From the First Call to a Live Project

Bringing a new project onto the platform is a careful process. Because of the strict norms, many interested borrowers don’t make it through the first round of checks. But once they do, it’s most likely to turn out into a long-term collaboration, creating as much impact as possible. There are 14 detailed steps to undertake from the first call to a live project. The negotiating and monitoring part is done by the Investment Managers, then follows the work of the rest of the team.

Although they focus on different regions, Manan and Charles not only work together a lot, but especially with colleagues Daniel, our CFO, Luminita who is Senior Legal Counsel and Lera, our Investments Operations Officer. Not to forget the weekly meeting with the marketing team! 

“We’re always working on either preparing everything for a new borrower to come to the platform or renewing existing contracts. It’s a lot of coordination between teams but we have our communication streamlined,” says Manan. 

One of the innovations Manan was able to introduce is the so-called fast track process: “We worked on a model that allows a quicker and more efficient start of the collaboration with strong, well-established financial institutions and potentially grow their contract with us as we go.”

Charles finds his work drive in both the way of working and the purpose of it. “At Lendahand, I can do the full process, from analysis to negotiation. It’s way more variation than work I could do in many other companies. The learning curve is steep, but the impact is real.” Looking back on his time living in Peru while working, he says it was one of his most valuable experiences. “Talking to people in their daily lives I saw first-hand how financial services change everything for them. It’s something you can’t get from spreadsheets and makes the work personal.”

 

The Balancing Act: Impact and Finance

A recurring challenge is the interest rates. “We’re impact-first, not purely commercial,” Manan says. “But projects still need to be competitive for borrowers and attractive for investors. Negotiations can be stressful and sometimes disappointing if a deal falls through. But I actually enjoy that part a lot.”

So what makes Lendahand an interesting financing option for those microfinance institutions, financial institutions, and companies in emerging and developing countries worldwide? Charles clearly determined what the perks are of the Lendahand model for many borrowers in Latin America. “Local banks often charge very high interest rates, leaving cooperatives with few good options,” he explains. “At Lendahand, instead of one big loan, they can choose to receive smaller amounts over time. Spread over different projects on the platform. This really helps the cooperatives to manage liquidity.”

 

Charles visiting the activities of microfinance institutions and cooperative for farmers in Peru.

 

Expanding the Lendahand World Map

As an investor, you will often find different available projects in the same country. Manan, who covers Central and Southeast Asia as well as East Africa, explains why: “Entering a new market takes a lot of effort. We need to understand the country’s dynamics. We only look at new countries if the lead comes from a strong source and passes strict checks. That means references from other lenders, sanction list screenings, and a full ecosystem analysis.” 

Charles has a similar approach in Latin America, where he spends much of his time ensuring projects remain sound. “Not every country has the same experience and regulation regarding microfinance, meaning every country needs to be viewed with a different lens,” he says. “Therefore, every quarter, we review financials, but we also ask questions like: who are their clients? Where exactly is the money going? It’s about building trust.”

 

Manan during a visit of an Indian branch of borrower Sistema.bio 

 

“In short, we avoid places we can’t visit,” Manan notes. “On-the-ground analysis is key for us. But sometimes there are other reasons we unfortunately can’t work in certain countries.” 

As Lendahand has a European Crowdfunding License, we are obliged to follow the European Commission’s sanction list. It tells us in which countries we are (temporarily) not allowed to operate. For almost two years, Cambodia was one of them. Now, the country has been reapproved and is making a comeback on the platform: “We are glad to be allowed to reintroduce First Finance in Cambodia. They have a 100% repayment record and provide affordable housing finance. Their product has already helped many families,” Manan shares. 

 

Looking ahead

What excites them about the future? For Manan, it’s adding new clients, especially fintechs that bring innovative models. “That’s what motivates me most is expanding markets and offering deals that attract our investors.”

For Charles, it's the untapped potential Lendahand has with the new European Crowdfunding License. "Being a French national and living in Spain, I would love to see all people of the EU investing on the Lendahand platform!” 

At the end of the day, the Investments Team works on building trust with the microfinance and financial institutions around the world, local partners we work with and the investors on Lendahand. 

 

Did you enjoy the sneak peek into our colleagues’ days at work? They’re already preparing your next investing opportunity! This is your cue to have a look at our project’s page to see what’s cooking.