Meet the Founder – Lendahand, a World-Main For-Revenue Crowdfunding Platform for Impression Investing

When investing, your capital is in danger.

Sustainable investing has been a scorching matter lately, with fintech startups popping up all around the map, aiming to reinvent funding and construct a greater, greener future. 

Nonetheless, whereas the highlight tends to deal with renewable vitality, sustainability ETFs and carbon-offsetting, various companies are taking the sustainability problem head-on, from a unique however equally necessary angle.

Lendahand, at the moment overfunding on Seedrs, offers traders the chance to place their cash into rising markets the place capital might be onerous to come back by, to assist revolutionary entrepreneurs construct their companies to drive financial development – and eradicate poverty within the course of.

We sat down with co-founder and CEO Koen The to debate how the corporate is rethinking investing, and the way Lendahand is creating alternatives the place they’re wanted most.

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What’s Lendahand’s imaginative and prescient, in your individual phrases? 

A whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of individuals stay in poverty all over the world. Lendahand is working towards a world with out poverty, the place the alternatives you might have aren’t decided by the nation wherein you had been born. We goal to do this by supporting entrepreneurs and companies to develop, succeed and make use of. Our for-profit enterprise mannequin permits European traders to again crowdfunding initiatives in 28 international locations internationally, to assist drive a stronger, extra inclusive world economic system. 

What inspired you to construct the corporate?

After working within the monetary trade for therefore a few years, I used to be in want of extra emotional connection to my work. Fascinated about the large image, I wished to work for a corporation that I might be proud to inform my children about. As quickly as I met our founder Peter Heijen for the primary time, and he advised me his imaginative and prescient for Lendahand, I used to be hooked. I turned a co-founder and finally turned CEO. I’ve by no means regarded again since. 

How does Lendahand fill a spot out there?

Lendahand supplies financing to corporations caught in what we name “the lacking center”. That is the zone wherein corporations are too massive to safe funding by the use of microfinance, however often too small to look to bigger monetary establishments for assist. 

By offering capital to those corporations, we guarantee they’re not left behind by a monetary system that’s developed through the years to ostracize smaller producers, and that they’ll entry the capital that they want, and deserve.

What are a few of the success tales from corporations within the portfolio?

One in every of our coolest success tales is an organization referred to as SoKo. SoKo’s native artisans handcraft gold jewellery in Kenya, and all of their uncooked supplies are ethically sourced. What makes them so revolutionary, is that their merchandise are actually out there in department shops right here in Europe. In actual fact, Michelle Obama truly wore one in every of their items on the quilt of Essence Journal!

To this point, SoKo has efficiently raised over €1.6 million on our platform, and all of their scheduled repayments have been made in full and on time. This simply goes to indicate what number of companies there are on the market which are, at their cores, engineered for achievement, however are held again by their geographical location and the damaged monetary methods they’ve traditionally relied on.

How does Lendahand stand out amongst rivals? 

So far as crowdfunding platforms are involved, we’re the one one that provides a chance to earn a monetary return whereas giving entry to so many rising markets internationally. Which means that inside a mannequin mannequin that promotes sustainability, we additionally cater to the monetary wants of our traders.

How does Lendahand profit entrepreneurs vs. traders? 

Entrepreneurs profit from Lendahand as a result of they’re capable of entry development capital for his or her companies that they might usually not have entry to. As their companies develop, they’ll rent extra folks, creating employment alternatives of their communities. They will buy better quantities of stock, and make additional investments into growth, or the enhancements of their advertising and marketing and amenities.

Buyers that make investments via Lendahand profit from entry to investments in rising markets, in addition to the flexibility to make an precise impression on folks’s lives with the cash they put ahead. 

Lots of the apps and platforms at the moment that overuse the buzzwords “impression” or “sustainable investing” are responsible of “green-washing” – a course of the place you place a advertising and marketing spin on a really regular, non-impactful funding, and in doing so, persuade traders they’ve made a distinction with their cash. Lendahand champions transparency, giving traders the possibility to decide on the companies they spend money on, and see precisely how their cash can be used, to allow them to know the tangible results their funds have had.

Why is Lendahand a helpful various to loan-providers and different choices out there to entrepreneurs in growing international locations? 

Most entrepreneurs in growing international locations clearly don’t have entry to a platform like Lendhand (therefore our elevating on Seedrs). These entrepreneurs are usually confronted with a variety of choices, most of them unhealthy. Mortgage sharks are fairly prevalent in rising markets, in addition to authorized predatory lenders. There are additionally some small enterprise loans out there, however the collateral necessities (similar to proudly owning a house to place up towards the mortgage) are often far too excessive for an individual of restricted wealth and revenue. Consequently, most entrepreneurs find yourself not rising their companies in any respect; hurting their native economic system and stopping wealth creation for them and their potential new workers. 

What is going to the proceeds from this spherical be used for?

We’ve got various thrilling plans within the making. The most important funding we’ll undertake with the funds from this spherical can be in increasing our group. We’ll rent extra funding managers, extra net builders, and construct out a assist group that may enable these groups to deal with their core duties extra effectively. 

On high of that, we can be investing in pan-European growth, so we will unlock much more seamless entry to rising market funding for traders all around the continent.

What are some thrilling initiatives/product adjustments/partnerships in your pipeline?

Hopefully by the tip of the summer time, we can be rolling out investments in USD. That is an thrilling alternative for our crowd traders as a result of nearly all of offers within the impression investing sector are accomplished in USD. That is primarily as a result of it’s one of many most secure and most secure currencies on the earth. This initiative will enable us to supply investments in lots of corporations that our crowd is at the moment not capable of entry. 

We’re additionally rolling out a brand new impact-focused crowdfunding platform within the Netherlands referred to as “PlusPlus.” The platform may have an impact-first focus and supplies capital particularly to Agricultural entrepreneurs in rising markets. 

In case you weren’t operating this enterprise, what would you be doing?

My coronary heart has all the time been with children that don’t get a good shot at life. Some as a result of their dad and mom needed to abandon them, some as a result of they don’t have the abilities which are rewarded on this society. If I used to be not operating Lendahand, I feel I might be serving to these children. 

I hope that sometime I may give it my finest to assist children unlock their full potential, be happy with themselves, and be comfortable. In what type I don’t know but, and it depends upon many issues. What I do know is that it doesn’t essentially should be ‘at scale’. If me and my household may assist just some children that might already be an enormous win!

What’s one piece of recommendation you might have for the longer term technology?

Be pleased with what you might have and the place you’re. Issues don’t should be greater, sooner or extra prestigious. Dwell life on objective!

Describe your organization tradition in three phrases

Clear, impact-driven, team-focused.

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To search out out extra, and for the chance to again Lendahand’s mission, go to the pitch.