Sask. woman develops app to help people lend and borrow personal items
A Prince Albert woman has developed an app that allows people to lend and borrow items from each other.
The "Lend It" app aims to connect individuals interested in sharing belongings.
The app enables users in Canada and the U.S. to rent out their possessions, ranging from fishing equipment to strollers, to others within their geographic area.
Founder and CEO Alex Jordan was struck with the idea to start 'Lend It' when she thought about renting out her ice fishing shack.
"Some people would just want to rent it for the weekend," said Jordan. "So that is kind of where the idea sparked from."
Jordan said she also took inspiration from apps like Airbnb, where people rent out their homes.
"People were lending out their homes. I thought, why couldn't we take that one step further and do it with household items and then just expand from there?" she said.
Alex Jordan first came up with the concept in January 2024 and it was launched five months later in June. (Jasmine Pelletier/CTV News)
She first came up with the concept in January 2024 and it was launched five months later in June.
Jordan, who prior to designing 'Lend It' had no experience in the tech industry, partnered with the U.S.-based App Bros coding team to develop the app.
She now manages 'Lend It' seven days a week out of her home in Prince Albert.
"There's so many pressures out there of consumerism, influencers, everything," said Jordan. "Everywhere you go, you're pushed to buy something, and I wanted to change the narrative behind that."
The app also allows users to post things like venues and offers of manual labour.
Jordan said customer feedback has been positive.
"The feedback is like 'I have a renovation that I really don't wanna go out and buy one tool for, this is amazing'... So I feel like with times coming people will get really comfortable with using it and it will just be a hub where you're totally just lending, renting, instead of having that pressure to buy."
Users' personal information is held by Stripe, a third party outside the app, for security purposes.
An update that will increase security is scheduled to drop in 2025 and will ask users to submit photo IDs.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau to make first public remark following Freeland's resignation
Chrystia Freeland, Canada's finance minister, said in an explosive letter published Monday morning that she will quit cabinet. Follow along for live updates.
BREAKING Feds deliver fall economic statement with $61.9B deficit for 2023-24, amid political turmoil
Amid the news that Chrystia Freeland has resigned from her cabinet position as finance minister, the Department of Finance on Monday unveiled the long-anticipated fall economic statement, which reports a deficit of $61.9-billion for 2023-24.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quits cabinet, Trudeau taps LeBlanc to replace her
In a stunning move, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday she's resigning from Justin Trudeau's cabinet, after the prime minister told her he no longer wanted her in the top economic post.
W5 Investigates Connecting the dots on a landlord scam: how clues revealed a prolific con artist at work
In part one of a three-part investigation, W5 correspondent Jon Woodward reveals how a convicted con artist bilked dozens of people in a landlord scam.
Wisconsin school shooter who killed teacher, student was 17-year-old female student, police say
A teenage student opened fire Monday at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and another teen during the final week before Christmas break. The shooter also died, police said.
Travel risk: Which countries does Canada recommend avoiding?
Canadians planning to travel abroad over the holidays should take precautionary steps to ensure they're not unintentionally putting themselves in harm's way.
Search continues for missing person in deadly B.C. landslide; local state of emergency declared
The village of Lions Bay has declared a local state of emergency as the search continues for a missing person, after a house was swept away in a landslide on Saturday.
Canada Post operations to resume on Tuesday, company says
Mail is set to begin moving again on Tuesday after a month-long strike by Canada Post employees comes to a close.
Jury delivers guilty verdicts for accused in Montreal-area triple homicide trial
The accused in a triple homicide trial south of Montreal has been found guilty.