Lendwill, a peer-to-peer lending company, has announced plans to establish a strategic operations center in Lithuania. Having recently received a peer-to-peer lending platform operator license from the Bank of Lithuania, Lendwill hopes to establish an office in Vilnius by the end of the year and soon launch its app in the country.
Based in Oslo, Lendwill is a peer-to-peer lending platform that allows users to borrow, lend and share small amounts of money using an app with a format similar to the popular dating platform Tinder. The development of Lendwill as a company was motivated by the personal experience of the founder and CEO Anželika Osmanova and the desire to fill the gaps in existing lending platforms.
"When I studied in Norway, I faced the challenges of borrowing small amounts from peers," she explains. "Besides the psychological barriers that prevent people from applying for such loans, I noticed another fundamental problem: at the time, there was no mechanism to record and preserve loan repayment history as evidence of a person's character and financial reliability."
Using blockchain blockchain) technology, Lendwill creates precisely such a credit record of users, which can be checked from anywhere in the world or presented as evidence. This approach reduces lending risk and borrowing anxiety, increases mutual trust between counterparties, and changes the overall borrowing experience.
"Our customers are various individuals who are looking for flexible and affordable borrowing options, as well as those who want to financially support other people and invest in them. We value the power of the community and believe that by fostering mutual relations we can promote financial inclusion and empower people," says A. Osmanova.
Since its establishment in 2018 Lendwill is constantly striving to improve its product - improving the user experience, optimizing security measures and expanding the range of functions to offer comprehensive microcredit solutions. According to A. Osmanova, the new Lithuanian office will play an important role in the development of the Lendwill product.
In choosing the new location, Lendwill focused on EU regions with a thriving fintech ecosystem and a favorable regulatory environment. Of all the countries that meet the requirements, Lithuania turned out to be the most suitable option for the company. As A. Osmanova explains, the country's attractiveness is determined by several factors.
"First of all, the country's progressive regulatory system ensures a harmonious balance between consumer protection and entrepreneurial freedom, which in turn creates an ideal environment for our innovative fintech (English) companies. fintech) for solutions to thrive. In addition, strategic Lithuania gives us access to the huge EU market, which has more than 500 million. users, allowing us to expand our reach and reach. We also had a very positive experience with the responsible Lithuanian institution, when we were pleasantly surprised by the opportunity to communicate directly with the Bank of Lithuania".
In addition to other professionals, Lendwill will also look for compliance and anti-money laundering specialists in Lithuania.
"We aim to provide a good service to the local market, so we will be looking for customer service specialists who speak the languages spoken in the country, and possibly a few people working in research and development," adds A. Osmanova.
According to "Invest in Lithuania” by CEO Elias Chivilis, Lendwill joins a vibrant country fintech ecosystem that provides significant support to early stage startups.
"I believe that Lendwill will find the right talent and business environment in Lithuania, which will allow this startup to create value for its customers, expand throughout Europe and continue to change the microcredit niche."
