Erl John, G&G Snacks (B)
- Local partner investment
- 1 new job
- 4 people reached

Born and raised in the small town of Binalonan, Pangasinan, Erlinda Labitoria, used to be a housewife until in 2003 she got introduced by her aunt to the production of chips (or crisps). Erlinda started out as a small scale chips producer, like many of her towns folk, selling banana chips within the town. Her husband was at that time earning a minimum wage as a common laborer and with 4 kids to raise, the couple needed to increase their earnings. Thus, they decided to get serious with the chip business. Six years later they decided to further improve their business by formally registering it with the Government and adopting the name Crunchies.
Nowadays, Erlinda is focused on the production of banana chips, camote (sweet potatoe) chips and ube (taro) chips while her husband does the marketing and delivery to their customers. They get their raw materials from nearby towns in the Province, thus helping other industries as well.
After their start, selling the chips within their own town, they are now serving supermarkets and customers in 4 cities and 22 towns in the province of Pangasinan. Crunchies now employs 30 men and women, some of whom are out of school youth.
The loan from Lendahands partner NPFC, will be used by the company to fund orders for their new export market in Korea. The Korean market opened up for Crunchies when a Korean national tasted Erlindas chips and was so overwhelmed with its taste that he offered to market the product in his country.
With a healthy monthly turnover, a new export market to be served and the financial partnership with NPFC, Erlinda sees a bright future with further growth, more customers and more employment for people in her town.
N.B. this project has been split into 2 equal parts; this is the second tranche (B)
Company name | Erl John, G&G Snacks (B) |
CEO | Erlinda Labitoria |
Founded | 2003-01-01 |
Location | Binalonan |
Sector | Manufacturing / Production |
Turnover | €65,466.44 |
Employees | 30 |
Impact of this project
- With this investment 1 job is created
- With this investment 4 people are reached
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 NPFC
Portfolio Overview | €2,091,922 |
Equity / total assets | 17.00% |
Write-off ratio last 12 months | 14.20% |
% investment amount in arrears (>90 days) | 19.90% |
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