Lendahand Blog

ImpactWritten by Lynn Hamerlinck on 18 August 2021

This blog post briefly touches on what financial exclusion means and how financial inclusion can help entrepreneurship thrive.

Investing

In this series, Lendahand investor Marlous van Oorschot shares her experience with Gender Lens Investing. Read how she does it here.

InvestingWritten by Lynn Hamerlinck on 28 July 2021

Entrepreneurship is the fundamental basis of the microfinance approach to poverty alleviation. That's where it matches so well with the mission of Lendahand. Here's an overview of the local financial institutions in our portfolio that finance SMEs in emerging markets.

InvestingWritten by Koen The on 22 July 2021

As an economics student you learn about the 'law of one price': the concept that the price of identical assets should be the same. Then after college, as a student of life, you quickly realize that what you learned as an economics student is simplistic and detached from reality. In other words, horse crap.

UpdatesWritten by Koen The on 19 July 2021

In addition to investments in Euros (EUR) and U.S. Dollars (USD), Lendahand is adding a third opportunity to our portfolio: investing in the SMEs local currencies. This new addition increases the access to financing for entrepreneurs in emerging markets without adding currency exchange risk for you.

UpdatesWritten by Lynn Hamerlinck on 16 July 2021

Lendahand's newest investment opportunity MiCrédito is a microfinance institution in Nicaragua with a strong social background. They have been involved in micro-lending since 2004 and have developed a successful micro-lending program for rural populations, who are neglected by both the regulated financial system and by MFIs.

ImpactWritten 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?

UpdatesWritten by Lily Zhou on 24 June 2021

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.

ImpactWritten by Lynn Hamerlinck on 23 June 2021

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.

ImpactWritten by Charity Nyawira on 14 June 2021

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.