Dutch tech entrepreneurs unite to provide aid for refugees

Dutch tech entrepreneurs unite to provide aid for refugees

Amsterdam, February 28th 2022 - Three successful Dutch tech entrepreneurs have joined forces to aid those affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Ali Niknam (bunq), Joris Beckers (Picnic) and Robert Vis (MessageBird) have set up a foundation to shelter refugees fleeing the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The People for People foundation was founded today, after bunq received an enormous amount of messages in response to a LinkedIn message that Niknam posted earlier this weekend.

The charitable initiative will help refugees from both Ukraine and Russia and is currently looking into the effectiveness of various support actions it can implement. The foundation is already equipped to temporarily accommodate refugees in hotels and apartments in Bulgaria and Georgia where and when needed. Additionally, People for People is looking into getting them into the Netherlands on a work visa. Large numbers of Dutch people also reached out to the foundation, offering to provide shelter to affected families.

“We received countless responses over the weekend; it's truly heartwarming to see how the most dire situations bring out the best in people. As a result, this initiative has quickly grown far bigger than we anticipated. To maximise its positive impact we joined forces with other Dutch entrepreneurs to establish People for People”, says Niknam.

Former CFO of TransIP Pieter Jan van Krevel will develop and oversee the foundation from his role as director. All those affected or anyone who can provide shelter or wants to support the foundation can contact the organisation through the official website. The previous email address used for the initiative (people@bunq.com) will automatically be redirected.

About People for People

People for People Foundation is a growing entrepreneurial movement joining forces to get as many people affected by the Ukrainian war to safety as possible. We match people and foundations in need with companies that can fulfill these needs. We enable organizations such as Movement On The Ground, Takecarebnb, OpenEmbassy, FastLaneUkraine, On My Way UA, Netherlands for Ukraine and Lifeline Ukraine to increase their impact.

To maximize the positive impact of our initiative, foundation 'Stichting People for People' was founded by Joris Beckers (Picnic), Robert Vis (Messagebird) and Ali Niknam (bunq). Pieter Jan Krevel and Jesse van der Meulen (Aimforthemoon) have been appointed as co-directors of the foundation. A team of 50+ volunteers have joined the organization so far to support our mission.

After already receiving thousands of requests for help, we continuously identify the most urgent issues to help people and foundations in Ukraine, neighboring countries and those who arrive in the Netherlands.

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