Gram Utthan 26
With a loan of EUR 16,500 around 31 women, otherwise unserved, will gain access to a clean and safe toilet at home.
- Local partner investment
- 4 new jobs
- 128 people reached
- 31 toilets built




Several communities in Odisha have very little to no access to private toilets, forcing them to resort to open defecation. As a result, they face a higher risk of exposure to infection, snake-bites, and sexual assault, particularly in the case of women and children. Furthermore, the situation is aggravated for residents with ailments. Being one of the poorest states in India, gaining access to exclusive sanitation is far-fetched for most families here.
In fact, they are so used to open defecation that many a time they do not realize the kind of diseases they are exposing themselves too! Unsafe and inaccessible sanitation is a human problem for many reasons, covering personal hygiene and dignity, disease risk, environmental impact, as well as overall developmental impact related to health status, time use and production decisions.
Gram Utthan, an organization based in Odisha, focuses on dealing with issues pertaining to livelihood, skill training, energy, and sanitation. Their core value is to enhance human dignity and work towards sustainable development. Milaap, in partnership with Gram Utthan, seeks to reach out to more such communities in rural Odisha.
With this project, 31 families, otherwise unserved, will gain access to a clean and safe toilet at home.
Company name | Gram Utthan 26 |
CEO | Govind Dash |
Founded | 1990-11-01 |
Location | Odisha |
Sector | Financial services |
Turnover | €7,528,156.78 |
Employees | 190 |
Impact of this project
- With this investment 4 jobs are created
- With this investment 128 people are reached
- Met deze lening worden 31 toiletten gebouwd
About the risks
What are the risks of investing money?
The risk level depends on the specific project. Local partners cover the risk of currency exchange rates and defaults on Local Partner investments. They do this by maintaining financial reserves for this purpose. Aside from that, there is an option to claim their equity if needed. While these measures are intended to minimize the risk to investors, our local partners face risks of their own that could affect their ability to secure your investment. These include - bankruptcy - currency exchange rates - fraud - operational risks - political and regulatory changes - natural disasters or epidemics.
With direct investments, risks of default are not covered. As the risks are higher, so are the interest rates.
There is also some operational risk at Lendahand. An example might be that Lendahand is unable to find shareholders to finance their activities. In such a case, Lendahand will handle outstanding investments at the best of its ability. At the same time, our ability to legally address non-payment from local partners becomes understandably difficult.
How does Lendahand minimize the risks?
Every local partner must share our social mission to ensure local entrepreneurs can access affordable financing, allowing them to grow their business. Local partners must also have a 'track record'; they must have proven themselves as a reliable credit provider for SMEs.
For instance, this means a solid credit portfolio and enough buffers and equity to compensate for unexpected downturns. We also check the organizational structure of the portfolio company and how robust their (internal) procedures are. Finally, the investments must be in proportion to the total balance of that portfolio company. A healthy balance between effectuating influence and being independent is crucial. If you would like to receive more information on the financial indicators we employ, please contact us via info@lendahand.com.
When currency exchange risks become too high for a local partner, Lendahand will urge the local partner to cover these risks. In some scenario's the local partner is contractually obliged to comply with these demands.
Lendahand will always conduct due diligence when companies request funding. To provide more insights on risks, an independent party comes in to perform an analysis of direct loans. The results can be downloaded on the project detail page of the direct loan. However, this analysis serves primarily as a tool for your own opinion and conclusion. Pay attention to the fact this analysis is not investing advice.
Does Lendahand provide a guarantee?
Usually we don't. Local partners take care of the repayment, even if (some) entrepreneurs are unable to do so themselves. If the local partner is for some reason unable to repay then there is a chance of partial or full loss of your money. For this reason, Lendahand only selects financially solid partners based on strict criteria.
For most direct investments, there is no guarantee. However, currency risks are covered.
Sometimes, and only for some direct investments in Africa, our partner Sida, part of the Swedish government, will guarantee a maximum of 50%. Read here more about guarantees with Sida. Projects with Sida guarantees are indicated explicitly on the project page.
Does Lendahand have a license or exemption?
Yes. The Dutch Authority Financial Markets (AFM) has provided Hands-on B.V. (with trade name 'Lendahand') in September 2016 with an investment firm license in accordance with article 2:96 of the Financial Markets Supervision Act (Wft). Placing orders on Lendahand's website is therefore an AFM regulated activity. Lendahand also meets its minimum capital requirements of EUR 125,000 following its license as required by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).
Lendahand uses an exemption from an approved prospectus that is available up to EUR 5 Million per year.
How safe are my personal details?
We adhere to strict safety requirements concerning private and payment details. All sensitive data is sent through an encrypted connection (https). Also, information is stored (encrypted) in a secured facility provided by AWS: the world’s largest hosting service. A secured connection and multi-factor authentication can only retrieve customer documents.
What happens if the local currency devaluates?
Our local partners and companies bear the exchange rate risks. We settle the investments, redemptions, and interest payments in euro.
Does Lendahand use a third foundation fund?
What happens with my money if Lendahand goes bankrupt?
If Hands-On BV (containing the brand name Lendahand) went bankrupt, trades between Lendahand and payment service provider Intersolve EGI would cease immediately. Intersolve will then transfer the funds in your wallet to your bank account (Note: if at this time the project you have invested in has been fully funded and the money has thus been transferred to the local partner, these funds will not be transferred back to your bank account). Intersolve will then, in consultation with a trustee, handle all repayments between the investors and entrepreneurs until the final repayment of the last project has taken place.
Additionally, Lendahand is part of the investor compensation scheme (ICS). This scheme aims to compensate individuals and small businesses with trusted money and or financial instruments (such as notes or options) to a licensed bank, an investment firm, or a financial institution. In case the financial firm is unable to meet its obligations arising from claims related to the investment service (in other words, if Hands-On BV is not keeping track of the acquired notes by investors in the Wge depot correctly). The ICS guarantees an amount of up to €20.000 per individual. For more information, go to www.toezicht.dnb.nl/en/2/50-202210
Why is Intersolve EGI handling my money?
What happens when a local partner goes bankrupt?
About Milaap
Portfolio Overview | €7,843,392 |
Equity / total assets | 50.00% |
Write-off ratio last 12 months | 0.00% |
% investment amount in arrears (>90 days) | 0.00% |
We have already contributed for Gram Utthan 26



