Marijn Bergsma

Chief Commercial Officer at People''s Pension Holding

My experience and deep interests:

• Business Development

• International Development

• Investing

I am based in: Amsterdam

Other projects and organizations include: People''s Pension Trust Ghana

I credit my international background and family as the basis of who I am today; risk-taking, creative, and inquisitive.

I’m the second of four boys who fueled each other’s competitive nature. We grew up in the Netherlands, the US, and Japan, and I did part of my degree in New Zealand and got my first ‘real’ job in Tanzania. Throughout my youth and 20’s I spent most of my resources on travelling; something my wife Eva and I still do as much as possible with three young children of our own.

For the past ten years I have worked in the social business and finance space in Africa. I started my own business in Tanzania developing credit scoring models for lenders; managed an investor & entrepreneur network; was investment manager for a social venture participation company; worked with NGOs on all aspects related to entrepreneurship; and invested privately.

In 2015 I joined PPH; a start-up launching (micro-)pension funds in developing countries, targeting people working in the informal sector. Our first fund, People’s Pension Trust Ghana, received its license in 2016 and has since registered over 10,000 farmers, market traders, and other informal sector workers. Our ambition is to reach 500,000 people in Ghana in the next five years, and to expand into other markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Our endeavor is to scale the business in two East African countries simultaneously.

As Chief Commercial Officer I am in charge of business development, international expansion, fundraising, and partnerships.

I strive to excel in a challenging, innovative space through collaboration, creativity, and compassion.