(L-R) Sahil Goel, President of the Indian Association Luxembourg; Bharti Sharma, creator of rental platform Deelen;
Credit: Steven Miller, Chronicle.lu
On the evening of Thursday 22 May 2025, the creator of rental platform Deelen hosted a press conference for the official launch of this online sharing platform, at Cercle Munster in Luxembourg-Grund.
Deelen (the Luxembourgish word for sharing) is a peer-to-peer rental platform which allows users in Luxembourg to register and offer items for hire to other residents of the Grand Duchy, creating access to items which may only be required for a short period of time and allowing people to monetise everyday objects to create an additional income stream.
The press conference, hosted by Deelen creator Bharti Sharma, welcomed guests including Diplomat from the Embassy of Mexico to Belgium and Luxembourg, Francisco Tovar, and President of the Indian Association Luxembourg (IAL), Sahil Goel.
Bharti Sharma gave a presentation of the website, providing a detailed walkthrough of its functionality, the sign-up procedure for users and the security aspects incorporated for payments and data protection. She also spoke of her motivation in creating the website and how the platform was developed. She remarked that Deelen was designed to “encourage responsible consumption” and “give new life to objects that are not used regularly”.
Sahil Goel then spoke of the involvement of the IAL and their partnership in the development of Deelen as well as the “very simple and yet very powerful idea of sharing”, which can benefit communities within Luxembourg.
After the event, Chronicle.lu spoke to Bharti Sharma about the creation of the platform and her plans for the future.
Chronicle.lu : What are your plans now that the platform has launched?
Bharti Sharma: New features on the platform that we want to add [include] partnerships. For example, delivery of items, because sometimes people would like to rent some big items that are not easy to deliver. I would like to find something that is quite sustainable. So, I'm looking for, for example, electric vehicles or something like that or, whenever they are doing another delivery, to take the opportunity to help. Also, for clothing, partnerships with cleaning companies. So when, for example, you are renting a dress for an occasion, it goes first to the cleaning company, so the renter receives it perfectly and then when it is delivered back, the cleaning company will pick it up.
Chronicle.lu: Are you planning to have a mobile app to partner the website?
Bharti Sharma: I wanted to have an app since the very beginning but it's not the easiest. It's not the cheapest either. But I really want to go ahead with this idea, so I said, okay, let's just launch the website. The developers have built the website to match with smartphones and it's really well done but, yes, of course, we will be working on developing an app.
Chronicle.lu: What was it like working with the business development ecosystem in Luxembourg?
Bharti Sharma: It was super good. Honestly, I had very good support. I was very well guided in all processes. They give you very good advice because the first two years, we were working on the business case, on developing the website, in trying to get everything sorted. They always answer your questions. They have also put me in contact with some lawyers for some specific questions because at the beginning you cannot know everything. The support from the House of Entrepreneurship and the [Luxembourg] Chamber of Commerce was amazing. If I was to launch a business again, I would definitely reach out to [them].
Chronicle.lu: What was the inspiration for you in developing Deelen?
Bharti Sharma: I have been living in Luxembourg for eight years now. I came, like maybe any other foreign-born resident, and said I am coming for just one year and then I go back home. But actually, I'm still here and I'm not ready to leave. Sometimes I wanted to rent out my items because while moving my new apartment was not yet ready, so I had to store my items somewhere. So, I said if I could rent them out, it would be great. My family live in the south of France, so when they come to visit me, I needed more chairs, more stuff and I remember I had a friend who was asking to borrow a child chair to put in the car because her friends were coming over for the weekend. [With the website] you can book something for the moment that you really need it and just pay for that. I wanted to create something that centralises everyone's needs.
