Ilse Visser, entrepreneur & volunteer
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‘The world is so much bigger than your company, friends and family’

Ilse Visser, entrepreneur & volunteer

Rianne Lindhout1 March 2018

In addition to being the owner of a successful recruitment bureau, Ilse Visser also works hard as a volunteer for Microkrediet voor Moeders (Microcredit for Mothers).

Microcredit seems to be a wonderful system. Why hasn’t it helped to eliminate poverty completely? “Many of the people who could benefit from it have not yet been reached. In some countries, it is illegal to loan out money, such as many Islamic countries, and in India the caste system still keeps the poorest of the poor from knocking on the bank’s door.”
“Plus, in a single day you can lose everything that you’ve built up over the years. The recent earthquake in Nepal completely wiped out one of our projects. A major hospital outside of Kathmandu is one of our partners, and an enterprising man there has set up several outposts. Women come there for medical aid, but they also learn about maternity care, hygiene and emancipation, and we look for people who might need microcredit. Many of the outposts were destroyed by the earthquake.”

And yet you continue to work hard to promote microcredit. Why? “I am enthusiastic about microcredit because of how just a little money can have such a big impact on women, children and whole communities. I also appreciate how Microkrediet voor Moeders specifically focuses on women. I know that women in Asian countries are more likely than men to share their income with their children and family and to invest their money in the community. Men often leave the home to earn money, while the women stay in the village where they act as a role model for their children and ensure a stable foundation. And 95% of the women pay back their loans within one year, so that the money can be loaned back to new women. Isn’t that a great system?!”

‘I am enthusiastic about microcredit because of how just a little money can have such a big impact on whole communities’

What is the best thing that you have seen done using microcredit? “I can’t leave for a few weeks to go see the projects, because I have a son with autism. But I heard from another volunteer a story about a woman who used her start-up capital of 85 Euros to buy old newspaper to use to fold envelopes, which she then sold on the street. You need start-up capital to do business with a waste paper merchant. But from those beginnings she has built up her own small business, and several women from the village are working for her, so she is helping the village to develop.”

What is it you do exactly at Microkrediet voor Moeders? “In 2009, the founders Erlijn and Samantha wanted to expand their work with an organisation for volunteers, so that all of the money they raised could go straight to the microcredit loans. I started helping them with that. It’s difficult, because you need people who are willing to do the work on a volunteer basis. We came up with a new structure that allows the founders to leave the work to a team of volunteers whose work and networks can help the organisation a lot. We work together with attorneys and notaries who all work for free. One or two volunteers are responsible for a single country, where they look for reliable partners.
“There is always a balance between volunteers and quality. Ideally, our people will go to the project countries to see if our money is actually reaching the poorest of the poor. But if no one can pay to do that, what then? We are drawing up a good plan to compensate travel costs under certain conditions. I also helped the organisation with the celebration of its fifth anniversary, and this year we’ll be celebrating our 10th anniversary on 10 October. There is plenty of work to do.
“As a volunteer, you might have a week where you have to work a few evenings in a row for MvM, going to meetings, answering mails and the like. But there are also weeks where there is less work to do. You just have to be willing to set aside the time that’s needed.”

You are also a woman who has started her own business. Is there a relation between that and your work for MvM? “The similarity between the two organisations is that they have both grown quickly, and that growth had to be managed. But it’s purely an accident that I became involved in both. In 1996, my friend Judith asked me to choose one of her three ideas for a company and to help start it. That eventually became Undutchables, in which we were the first company in the Netherlands to recruit international talent for Dutch companies. With MvM, I know one of the founders via other contacts, and she asked me to help.”

‘This year, we spent our company day out packing birthday packages for the Jarige Job Foundation’

Do you ever look back on your student years? “I often thought that it was too theoretical at the VU, and I’ll certainly advise my children to do a practical University of Applied Sciences study programme before they go to the University. But the books by Geert Hofstede (such as Cultures and organizations: software of the mind, ed.) are on the shelves in all of the Undutchables offices. A knowledge of other cultures comes in so handy. My studies have shown me that I always look at things from a certain perspective, and that people from other cultures are not ‘weird’, but just see things from a different perspective.”

The Undutchables website says that the company has supported the Fight Against Cancer Foundation since Judith passed away. “Yes, and in general we as a company place a high priority on helping charitable organisations. This year, for example, we spent our company day out packing birthday packages for the Jarige Job Foundation.”

Why do you think it is so important to invest time in volunteer work, in addition to your demanding job, your family and other distractions? “The world is so much bigger than your company, friends and family. We have such a good life! Making some kind of contribution to improve the lives of others is not only a personal duty, it also enriches my life. It brings you into contact with other enthusiastic volunteers, and that gives you so much energy!”

CV Ilse Visser

1970 born in Woensdrecht | 1988 Christelijk Lyceum Arnhem | 1992diploma Mr. Koetsier, fashion industry academy | 1994 completed major Culture, Organisation and Management (COM) at the VU | 1995production preparation at Oilily | 1996 founded international recruitment bureau Undutchables together with Judith van de Klundert (passed away in 2001). Undutchables grew quickly, and Ilse is still the owner | 2009Active with Microkrediet voor moeders | Ilse is married and has two children.