Who are we?

The founders, from left to right: Felix, Elena, Malte, Lain

Photo: Isaac Strang

Lain Heringman
CEO
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In 2008, Lain co-founded Investours and successfully setup a microcredit and responsible tourism pilot program in Oaxaca, Mexico. Aside from formerly being a semi-professional classical musician and magician, Lain founded an independent record label in London, an anti-human trafficking organization in the U.S.A. and has some criminal case investigation and military experience. Lain graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with a MSc in Development Studies and from Indiana University with a BA in International Studies.
Malte Hoepfner
COO
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Malte has most recently worked as a consultant for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Tanzania. In addition to his development experience Malte also gained governance experience interning at the German Bundestag and European Parliament and has been actively engaged in entrepreneurship having worked as a free lance web designer from the age of 16. Malte holds a MSc in Development Studies from the LSE and a BA in international relations from the University of Dresden. Furthermore, he studied development economics for half a year at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and for the past five years has been a fellow of Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Germany’s most prestigious academic fellowship foundation.
Felix Baden-Powell
VP Tourism
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Felix previously worked for PHC Motors with the finance and sales teams where he gained insights into the banking services in Ghana. Throughout his studies, he consistently dedicated a large portion of time to tutoring students in Economics, Politics and History. Prior to joining Bloom Microventures, he undertook analysis for Coffey International Development of the role of civil society support in post-conflict building in Afghanistan and South Sudan. Felix holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics, and an MA (Honours) in Politics from the University of Edinburgh.
Elena Rodriguez Blanco
Co-Founder and Board Member
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Elena is on her second entrepreneurial venture, and has 5+ years of experience in management and finance for large international organizations. Before coming to LSE and specialising in conflict and development, Elena obtained her MBA in SDA Bocconi (exchange student at The Wharton School) in 2006. She is also Project Management Professional certified.
Anupama Ramaswamy
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Anupama Ramaswamy, recent graduate from LSE, has already obtained a MA (Economics) from the University of Hyderabad. Her passion for microfinance and social enterprise had led to intern with the Grameen bank in Bangladesh in 2008 and a consultancy project with SMDI London in 2009. She has also gained valuable experience in the field of international development volunteering for WaterAid London. In addition, Anupama is also interested in issues of migration and human rights which led to her advocacy work with Kalayaan London.
Isaac Strang
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A serial entrepreneur, Isaac co-founded and runs Peasy Photos, a successful event photography company and Promaholics, a webzine and retailer for UK prom organisers. Given Isaac’s passion for social enterprise and development economics he effectively pioneered the first Bloom Microventures tour alongside Kieran in Hanoi, Vietnam. Based in London, Isaac is currently enhancing his Vietnamese at SOAS.
Kieran Garvey
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Over the summer 2010, Kieran worked to test out BMV's concept in Vietnam and having successfully piloted three tours he is now completing his final year at the LSE studying International Relations. His work over the summer was funded by the Student Initative which is a charity he co-founded in 2008 and he is on the board of directors for the S.I. The S.I. is a charity which provides opportunities to young people within microfinance and social business to alleviate poverty. He was also the president of the LSE Microfinance Society.
Alicia Amarant
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Alicia graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in International Business which she has been utilizing in her ventures around the world. She has volunteered, worked and lived in 27 different countries, most recently in Vietnam working with Bloom Microventures. She speaks Spanish and Korean, and is currently improving her Vietnamese. Along with her continuous NGO work, she is an avid outdoorsman and Divemaster. Her passion for travel is only rivaled by her passion for making a difference in the underprivileged communities of the world.

Our external advisors

Sadrudin Akbarali

Sadrudin was a practicing chartered accountant in London (qualified in the UK). He joined the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in 1976. Initially he was involved in advising family businesses to start/expand and become bankable. Having successfully assisted over 1,500 families to become established in business, he was then requested to manage a Venture Capital Company in the SME sector.
In 1995, on behalf of AKDN, he started a microfinance programme in Eastern Tajikistan which eventually transformed to become the country’s National Microfinance Bank. Subsequently he continued to start and develop microfinance institutions in nine more countries (six in Africa and three in Asia and the Middle-east).
Since January 2010, he has been advising, in a voluntary capacity, several clients relating to microfinance and enterprise development, including the Students Initiative (SMDI) and Bloom Microventures.
Sandra Sequeira

Sandra Sequeira is a Lecturer in Development Economics at the London School of Economics. Her research focuses on how to improve the delivery of public services in developing countries, and on the role of the private sector in development. Sandra has conducted fieldwork in Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Peru and India, and has consulted for the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the Government of Mozambique. Sandra holds a PhD from Harvard University, an MA from The Fletcher School and a BA from Universidade Nova.
Leila Hajaj

Leila has worked with a variety of not-for-profit organisations across the world, including working in the Spanish headquarters of the multinational Action Against Hunger. At present, she is working as a Public Relations account executive in a large global communications firm based in London.She holds a MA (Hons with distinction) in Spanish and Politics from the University of Edinburgh.