Thierry is Director and Founder of the BiD Network Foundation.
BiD Network prepares emerging market entrepreneurs for investors. It was founded in 2006. BiD Network operates an online community with 40,000 members, it has supported 10,000 entrepreneurs in the writing of business plans. Over 400 SMEs have started through BiD Network in the last 4 years. 90 have been matched with investors for USD 12 million.
In 2010 Thierry Sanders was advisor in the creation of the US State Department's Global Entrpreneurship Programme.
Also that year BiD Network won the prestigeous G20 SME Finance Challenge award from President's Barack Obama, Lee Myung-bak Stephen Harper. BiD Network is considered by the G20 to be one of the most innovative organisations in Financing SMEs in developing countries.
Thierry’s career is a blend of development and business, with a dash of IT, carbon markets and finance.
At NCDO he set up Dutch Design in Development, the BiD Challenge, the MDG Scan for multinationals. He helped initiate the Economic Impact Assessment model with Heineken to measure its impact on the local economy in Sierra Leone. In 2005 Thierry published the world's first guide for Venture Capital Funds for development.
Prior to this, he was general manager of EcoSecurities plc the leading Carbon trading & solutions company focused on developing country carbon projects. Thierry advised several Dutch companies on the financial return of CSR. Worked for Origin (A Dutch-French IT company) setting up joint ventures in Japan. Before that he worked with Fair Trade and the ABN Bank.
He studied Agricultural and Development Economics at Imperial College, London. He shares his life with three great people: Anna, Haiko and Jet.
"I strongly believe that economic growth driven by finance and small and medium sized companies is the key to poverty reduction. The trick is to make this growth massive, pro-poor and sustainable".
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Meso Finance - financing SMEs in developing countries - a position paper - Sept. 2006
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Biography article about Thierry & BiD in P+ Magazine - dec. 2006
In Dutch
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TvM - duurzame producten- Thierry Sanders - april 2003.PDF
Tijdschrift voor Marketing (Dutch)
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Leve de kleine ondernemer - Onze Wereld - Nov. 2007
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The-six-ways-your-company-can-reduce-poverty.pdf
BNR newsradio
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Business-en-armoedebestrijding-gaan-prima-samen.pdf
OnzeWereld
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Afkickplan voor de hulpindustrie
Financieele Dagblad 31-Aug-2009
