This month PlusPlus’ entrepreneur Kissima Industries received a guest. During his trip to West Africa, Cordaid director Kees Zevenbergen took the time to visit the Malian company of madam Assitan Keita. It was an interesting visit, with a focus on female entrepreneurship.
The versatility of Annelies van der Vorm cannot be captured in one sentence. What characterizes the Rotterdam businesswoman is that she is a very social entrepreneur. Successful but modest. "I am fortunate to have a lot of energy and live from gratitude". As an investor in PlusPlus, she talks about her perspective on life and where her broad social commitment comes from.
Curious how we find the companies on PlusPlus? It all starts with our local colleagues. From Solidaridad and Cordaid offices around the world, they are the ones on the lookout for talented entrepreneurs. Pedro Valarini, our colleague in Colombia, tells us all about it.
Investor Arno Huibers (67) has been providing people with moments of happiness for decades. As a clown or mime he likes to bring a bit of happiness to people, whether they are children, adults or people with dementia. But he is certainly not lacking in long-term vision either.
Our team has grown. No less than two interns started their internships at PlusPlus this month, one within the Marketing Team and the other at Impact Investments. They have at least one thing in common: they are really looking forward to it! Here they introduce themselves.
In August 2020, the time had finally come: after 2 years of preparation, PlusPlus was launched. Like any start-up, we faced some challenges. In this blog several people from our team look back on the first year of PlusPlus.
Qauthar Saleh (46) invests through PlusPlus because he likes to make an impact. Which project appeals to him in particular? Laughing: "Oh, I don't think I've skipped any of the projects, except the cattle rancher, because I'm a vegetarian!"
Nowadays, more and more people are looking at "sustainability" or "social impact" when choosing their investments. Recent research by the AFM shows that seven out of ten investors consider sustainability to be an important criterion. They will even settle for less financial return if these investments also deliver a social return. And that is good news for humanity. If all the savings in Europe were invested towards impact, many world problems could be resolved.
Are all our investors people with hefty savings? No, Olivia and Joel tell us in this blog. Young people who see the value of sharing what you have by giving a loan. Even if it's only for small amounts.
Good news! Our first financial statements have been approved. After an extensive audit, the auditors have given their approval to our 2020 financial report.
Ilse Duijvestein is an enthusiastic investor at PlusPlus. "It's only tiny amounts thought," she explains. But she is very clear: "I certainly don't see my investment in PlusPlus as a gift. I really want to get back what I have lent out. In doing so, I am expressing confidence in the borrowers."
