Cornelis Heesbeen, the founder of AUXFIN, is stepping back from the management team after 15 years in which his vision developed from a bold idea to pure reality, unlocking the huge potential of rural Africa with digital solutions and impacting already more than 3 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 From a bold idea …

In 2010, while in discussion with African diaspora in Europe, Cornelis was triggered by the need of accelerating digitalization in Africa. While opportunities were evident, few initiatives were undertaken. At the same time, it was well-known that by 2030, nearly half of the world’s youth would call Africa home. Cornelis: “This demographic boom presented an incredible chance for innovation and transformation. But to truly unlock this potential, Africa’s youth needed robust digital competence and services, and not limited to the happy few in the capital cities. Without it, existing disparities would widen.” 

Out of this vision, UMVA (Universal Method of Value Access) was born and started to lay the foundations for what evolved into a holistic approach and a wide range of digital solutions for Africa’s rural population, today already connecting more than 3 million people, government authorities and a large number of companies, (I)NGOs and multilateral organization, hereby unlocking knowledge, information, trade and overall empowerment of rural communities, and employing more than 1,000 people. 

… to pure reality

Cornelis’ vision, passion, persistence and inspirational management were highly needed to execute the idea, overcoming several obstacles, ranging from the “too good to be true” perception to the world’s unmet promise of having internet access all-over the globe. As a result, AUXFIN became an example for many other innovators on the continent, and is now a solid social enterprise, ready to embark on the next scaling phase.

 A new chapter

Although Cornelis will still be involved at AUXFIN as Founder and Owner, with the clear vision for growth and further innovation and the exciting upcoming opportunities ahead, he feels it is the right moment to pass on the management responsibility.

 AUXFIN’s new CEO, Marco van Andel, accumulated extensive professional experience in Finance and Development (Rabobank International, ProCredit, Tokio Marine HCC) especially in relation to Africa, before he joined AUXFIN out of passion and convincement that the proposition of AUXFIN could be a game changer. In the past 10 years, he has been key in the evolution of the company, managing its operations as COO, adding new countries to the group and expanding the network of business partners.

 Marco van Andel: “AUXFIN is at an exciting crossroads, where we not only want to consolidate our market position, but also want to continue to innovate and expand our geographical reach. Having been with AUXFIN for 10 years, I am honoured to take over from Cornelis and look forward to working with the team to further our mission.”

The Netherlands, 1 January 2026