Our mission

funding gap emerging markets
funding gap emerging markets

Our mission is to fight poverty in emerging markets by investing in people and businesses.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in these countries play a crucial role in creating economic growth and better living conditions. Therefore, these companies need reliable and affordable financing.

As a crowdfunding platform, Lendahand combines social impact with financial return in a sustainable way that benefits everyone. By investing on our platform, you can provide ambitious companies in emerging markets with the financing they need to create jobs, innovate new solutions, and grow their businesses. Ultimately, this can improve the socio-economic status of the people in emerging markets.

Our story

In 2010, our founder Peter Heijen decided to quit his job as an equity analyst manager in Amsterdam to go backpacking through Asia. The people he met during his trip made him realize that a change of direction in the world was needed. Peter knew that creating jobs would help lift people out of poverty and that SMEs could play a key role in this.

Entrepreneurs need funding to build their businesses and recruit staff. But in developing countries and emerging economies, there are few opportunities to borrow money. Interest rates (even at banks) can be higher than 50%.

This is how his idea for Lendahand came about: financing entrepreneurs in emerging markets with money from people in Europe who receive a modest interest rate in return. In 2013, the first loan for an entrepreneur launched on our website.

Lendahand is convinced that affordable financing is one of the keys in the fight against poverty. We consider our mission to be complete once there is no more poverty in the world and only then can Lendahand cease to exist.

Our core values

These core values guide everything that we do:

funding gap emerging markets

Our portfolio companies

All companies and entrepreneurs who receive financing through Lendahand must contribute to our mission. Therefore, our collaboration goes beyond the financial aspect. We work closely together with our portfolio companies and regularly have personal contact with the entrepreneurs. Furthermore, we monitor the social impact they make in their functional area. See which companies are part of our portfolio here.

funding gap emerging markets

Our partnerships

Lendahand is chasing big goals, and to achieve these, we partner with many different organizations and governments:

Last but not least, Lendahand is also a certified B Corp. B Corporations are companies who are certified - after a thorough assessment - for meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Around 3,600 companies are already part of the B Corp community and we are proud to be part of this network together with great companies like Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s.

Ready to join our mission?