Benjamin van der Lande has been recognized with a 2025 Global Recognition Award for his exceptional leadership and groundbreaking innovations in the fintech industry. The entrepreneur and co-founder of HenriPay Holding NV has demonstrated world-class achievement in creating new approaches to financial wellness globally while scoring impressively across multiple categories in the rigorous Rasch model evaluation system. Judges particularly noted his excellence in vision implementation, motivational leadership, market impact, and addressing global challenges, which collectively contributed to his outstanding performance across all assessed criteria.

The judging panel acknowledged van der Lande’s remarkable journey from teenage business failure to building a €4 billion publicly-listed holding company that now operates across multiple sectors, including construction, real estate, and financial technology. His vision for democratizing financial literacy through the Henri neo-banking platform demonstrates his commitment to empowering one billion people worldwide to achieve financial fitness through innovative tools and accessible technology. Van der Lande’s mission to reshape how individuals manage wealth and secure futures precisely exemplifies the excellence and positive global impact this award was designed to celebrate.

Early Challenges and Entrepreneurial Resilience

Benjamin van der Lande’s entrepreneurial story began at age 15 with Brutal Lifters. This online fitness gear shop initially gained traction but ultimately collapsed due to financial mismanagement, leaving him with €21,000 in debt owed to customers, payment processors, and his parents. The devastating experience became a profound turning point when van der Lande made the pivotal decision to repay every cent while rebuilding his career with newly acquired wisdom about financial management and sustainable business growth. Rather than deterring his ambitions, this early failure catalyzed his determination to master financial principles. It ultimately sparked his later passion for helping others gain similar literacy and control over their economic lives.

After his initial setback, van der Lande launched and sold another online retail company. He applied hard-earned lessons in digital advertising, overseas operations, and scalable e-commerce strategies, demonstrating his ability to convert theoretical knowledge into practical business success. Meeting future business partner Maurice Adam Weber at a gym led to a fortuitous partnership that complemented van der Lande’s strategic vision with Weber’s technical expertise, creating a powerhouse team that would transform Crebos Solutions into an international company serving Fortune 500 clients such as Disney, European giants like Philips, and the Dutch government. Their collaboration on multiple large-scale fintech projects provided unique insights into industry gaps and opportunities, eventually leading them to develop the innovative financial platforms that would establish van der Lande’s reputation as a significant innovator in the financial technology sector.

Revolutionary Financial Wellness Solutions

Van der Lande’s most significant contribution emerged through Henri, HenriPay’s innovative neo-banking product that democratizes financial literacy through a distinctive approach combining gamified learning tools with practical financial management solutions designed to reach populations traditionally underserved by conventional banking institutions. The platform diverges from traditional banking methods by offering unique features like the Henri group card, which allows multiple users to share one card without upfront cash balances, providing a practical solution for families, student groups, and sports teams who need collaborative financial tools without excessive complexity or restrictions. Users benefit from an intuitive system that teaches financial principles through engagement rather than dry instruction, making complex financial concepts accessible to people regardless of their previous financial education or experience level.

The award committee highlighted Henri’s potential global impact on addressing financial literacy gaps among younger generations who increasingly manage their financial lives through digital interfaces but often lack a fundamental understanding of financial principles and practices. Perfect scores in market impact categories and addressing global challenges reflected the committee’s recognition of how van der Lande designed Henri to fundamentally change banking services from mere transaction facilitators into empowerment tools that actively improve users’ financial decision-making capabilities. The platform’s innovative structure treats financial literacy not as a separate educational product but as an integrated part of the banking experience. It embeds learning opportunities within everyday financial activities and creates a seamless path toward financial wellness that users follow naturally through their regular banking interactions.

Strategic Innovation Across Diverse Sectors

Under van der Lande’s co-leadership, HenriPay Holding NV has grown into a diversified €4 billion enterprise listed on the German Stock Exchange with a portfolio spanning construction, real estate, and fintech that demonstrates his strategic vision extends well beyond single-sector innovation. The company contributed significantly to developing key projects in Nador, Atalayoun, Morocco—an 800 million dirham initiative led by state-backed agency Marchica Med that showcased the company’s ability to handle large-scale international development projects while maintaining innovative approaches. Van der Lande, alongside Maurice Weber and CEO Henri Broen, negotiated this transformative deal that established the company as a trusted partner for complex development projects requiring technical expertise and creative financial solutions.

HenriPay created solutions beyond traditional fintech, including their ‘frictionless bars’ concept implemented in Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff ArenA, which reduced workforce requirements from 45 to 8 bartenders while increasing revenue by 85% through sophisticated technology integration with operational systems. Van der Lande co-authored “From Vaults to Clouds,” an Amazon bestseller that analyzes how the 2008 financial crisis accelerated fintech innovation. He demonstrates his thought leadership in understanding macro-economic shifts and their implications for the evolution of financial services. The book’s success further cemented his reputation as someone who builds successful businesses and comprehends the broader economic and technological landscapes within which those businesses operate, giving him a valuable perspective on emerging trends and potentially disruptive forces that might affect financial technology in the coming years.

Final Words

The selection committee determined that Benjamin van der Lande exemplifies what the Global Recognition Awards seek to celebrate through his exceptional leadership that extends beyond individual success to create a positive global impact in financial literacy and accessibility. His journey from teenage entrepreneur facing bankruptcy to co-founder of a €4 billion holding company demonstrates remarkable resilience, strategic thinking, and willingness to learn from failure rather than being defined by it. Van der Lande consistently applies lessons from his financial struggles to develop solutions that prevent others from experiencing similar difficulties, creating a virtuous cycle where personal challenges become catalysts for innovations that benefit millions of users worldwide.

Benjamin van der Lande’s ambitious goal of empowering one billion people to achieve financial fitness represents the vision and scale of impact the 2025 Global Recognition Award was designed to acknowledge and promote within the global business community. His proven execution capabilities across multiple ventures, from software engineering companies to neo-banking platforms to operational innovations in physical spaces, demonstrate versatility and adaptability extending far beyond fintech entrepreneurship’s typical boundaries. The judging panel concluded that van der Lande’s combination of business acumen, technological innovation, and genuine commitment to financial empowerment make him worthy of this prestigious recognition and model for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to create businesses that generate profit and positive social impact.