Finding successful funding relies on trust

At first glance, Alikouzay and Langhout’s companies are very different. Alikouzay’s Brommobielexpert.nl sells and services mopeds. While Langhout’s NoPalm Ingredients develops a sustainable alternative to palm oil. But they do have something in common. Founder Alikouzay wanted his company to become more sustainable by investing in electric mopeds. CEO and co-founder Langhout wanted to expand production to a much larger, industrial scale. Both were looking for the right financing and the right partners to provide it.

Sustainable loan from Qredits

You do not have to tell Alikouzay anything about entrepreneurship. This young man with Afghan roots has been an entrepreneur since he was a teenager in the Dutch town of Hengelo. But finding financing to make his business sustainable? That was less familiar to him. “Our research showed that the market for electric mopeds is growing substantially every year,” says Alikouzay. “Also, many companies are becoming more sustainable and there are more and more electric cars on the road. We wanted to contribute to this development by taking a gamble on the sale of electric mopeds. But financiers were not open to our plans. Still, I kept looking and eventually we ended up at Qredits.”

There, Alikouzay got an SME Sustainability Loan after talking to an adviser. This is a loan of up to €50,000 designed by lender Qredits to help SME entrepreneurs make their businesses more sustainable. During the loan period, entrepreneurs are also offered free coaching and training. A special meeting was even arranged for Alikouzay. “Together with other entrepreneurs, I got to meet Queen Maxima. I spoke to her briefly and told her that it is difficult when you have an idea for a beautiful business but few financial resources. I could tell that she was eager to help entrepreneurs and understood my situation. That moment will always stay with me.”

Finding suitable investors

NoPalm Ingredients makes an alternative to palm oil. They do this by fermenting leftover products from agriculture, such as potato peelings. In the process, fermentation converts the raw materials into sustainable oil. This natural process saves 90% of CO2 emissions and 99% of land use compared to traditional palm oil production. To meet the huge global demand for palm oil, they want to increase their production substantially. And for that you need investment.

Langhout: “We started looking for funding in 2023. We first drew up a profile for the type of investor we wanted to attract. Considering the network and experience investors bring. But also the origin of the money, and the cultural similarity between the investing party and our company. We then stuck to this profile, even when tempted not to. Putting money into a company is not difficult in itself, but then moving the company forward together is a challenge.”

Building trust with Oost NL

“In the summer of 2024, with Rubio Impact Ventures, Fairtree Elevant Ventures, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (through the Innovation Credit), Oost NL, and several experienced business angels, we found a group of investors that strengthened us and helped us take the next steps.” This was preceded by many discussions with potential investors, such as regional development agency Oost NL. They help entrepreneurs who contribute to social solutions to innovate, invest, and internationalise sustainably. Langhout: “Even before we started fundraising, we were in regular contact with Oost NL. When you notice that there is concrete interest in your plans, it is important that you can accelerate together. That requires a relationship of trust. We built that with the people at Oost NL.”

Putting money to work

Raising financing for your business is step 1. Using that money to reach your business goals is, of course, the next step. Alikouzay explains, “With a sustainability loan from Qredits, we ordered electric mopeds from China. To do so, we also visited the manufacturer. Within 2 months, we received our products by container, and we sold them quite quickly.”

NoPalm Ingredients was also able to get started after raising investments. “We first fermented in a tank with a volume of 400 litres,” says Langhout. “If you want to produce on an industrial scale, you're talking about 50,000 to 100,000 litres. Soon we will carry out the first fermentation in a 100,000-litre tank at an external company. These are very expensive tests. So, we targeted the funding we raised.”

Learning from the investment

For brommobilexpert.nl, the loan also helped Alikouzay learn. “On our electric mopeds, we gave a 2-year warranty,” he explains. “During that period, unfortunately, quite a lot of batteries and chargers broke down. Those are expensive parts to replace. So, we are now designing an electric moped ourselves. Then we can decide which motor and battery to put in it, so that we can eventually market a high-quality moped.” 

NoPalm Ingredients learned a lot from their search for funding, Langhout says. “You can lay out your plans in the most beautiful presentations, but ultimately a successful funding round hinges on trust. And trust on both sides of the deal. Your intuition is an important adviser here.”