The European Microfinance Network (EMN) has recently signed a partnership agreement with Lendahand to contribute to consolidate the microfinance sector in Europe and to increase its social impact.

More specifically, this collaboration relationship aims at identifying opportunities allowing to  support, both financially and operationally, microfinance projects, especially in Eastern and Central European countries, to strengthen their own initiatives and competences.

Lendahand is a European online platform based in the Netherlands that allows individuals and small institutional investors to lend to small and medium enterprises in emerging countries through a network of local partners, usually (non-bank) financial insitutions. The impact investing platform is currently active in more than 20 countries. Over EUR 30 million in loans have been provided since Lendahand went live in 2014, and estimations foresee EUR 100 million in loans in 2020.

EMN, intermediary between MFIs and Lendahand

Concretely, the new agreement states that EMN will act as intermediary between the microfinance institutions (MFIs) members of EMN and Lendahand, who will support financial inclusion projects in Eastern and Central Europe though the funding to MFIs proposed by EMN and selected by Lendahand.

In this way, EMN will introduce its network to the Dutch platform and thus facilitate the identification of potential partners to receive debt funding from EU retail investors through the Lendahand platform, with the aim to reinforce social and financial inclusion in this concrete geographical area.

Both EMN and Lendahand are pleased to start this collaboration and look forward to increasing the social impact of the European microfinance sector.