Written by Lynn Hamerlinck on 12 July 2021
To work in the grey economy is business as usual for over 2 billion people worldwide. What goes with working in the shadow of the state and the economy?
Last month Lendahand celebrated the great milestone of 100 million euros in investments made. We can't say it often enough: we couldn't have achieved this without you, our crowd. This milestone belongs to all of us. That is why we called three investors who have been investing in Lendahand since the beginning to listen to their stories and experience with the platform.
Poverty comes in so many shapes and forms, and we all know it’s a real problem that causes severe problems for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It’s time to identify this huge hurdle we’re dealing with as we prepare ourselves to face and defeat this seven-headed dragon.
Kenya has the 6th highest GDP out of the 46 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, at $101.05 billion. Unfortunately still, over 36% of Kenyans live below the poverty line, earning less than KES 5000 or roughly $50 a month. The majority of Kenya’s poor population suffers multidimensional poverty, experiencing different kinds of hardships at the same time. What’s ailing the country? From harmful cultural practices to social inequalities, inadequate medical coverage, unemployment, and harsh climatic conditions; let’s scrutinize the various factors that make Kenyans poor and what the future holds.
We spent a day with iProcure's management, employees, and customers to understand the company’s operations, future goals, and how their services are impacting the community.
While many African countries are birthing innovation after innovation; Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa received 82% of the total fintech investment in Africa 2020. We analyze some of the leading types of innovations in these and other African countries.
Lendahand has reached the milestone of 100 million euros invested in SMEs in emerging markets. Our CEO Koen The tells us how it all started and how Lendahand managed to get here.
Lendahand's newest partner BWISE offers mobile payment solutions to small and medium entrepreneurs in Latin America. Their services allow MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to process more types of transaction payments from clients and to sell their customers accessible prepaid products.
Many would bet their gold that emerging markets are not the likely home for innovations and inventions like drones, fintech, covid contact tracing apps, and so much more. And yet, there are countless homegrown ideas from developing countries that impact the lives of thousands. When shining a light on their capabilities, we witness an incredible display of possibility.
About five years ago, 7-figure investments for African startups were rare. Fast forward to 2019, African startup funding crossed the $1 billion mark for the first time. The ’billion dollar’ trend continued in 2020 as more and more investors are gaining confidence in early-stage African startups.
172,545. That's how many women entrepreneurs Lendahand's new portfolio company Kori has supported to grow so far. Cooperative Kori, based in Peru, focuses on the financial growth of people who have their own businesses and offers group loans for women entrepreneurs.
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