Why Rapsi Exists
We believe that organisations doing good in the world deserve technology that works as hard as they do. Since 2013, we’ve been helping NGOs, associations and purpose-driven businesses harness the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365 to achieve their missions more effectively.
What started as a freelance part-time job has grown into a software consulting company with a permanent team and a global network of specialists. But we’ve never lost sight of what matters most: delivering reliable, solid solutions that genuinely help our clients succeed.
Our Story
Bastian van Mierlo founded the company in 2013 whilst working as Application Development Manager for CBM International, where he managed international development teams and external partners. Bastain, and his wife Solveig, decided to focus on working with even more organisations whose missions they believed in.
The decision to go all-in came after winning major clients like World Vision Deutschland, CBM and TASCHEN. In recent years we’ve achieved continuous growth through word-of-mouth recommendations, with expected turnover of €800,000 in 2025. We’ve built long-term partnerships with clients who trust us with increasingly ambitious projects.
Key milestones along the way include hiring our first employee in 2020 when her contract with CBM ended, winning an EU grant for the ECMWF/Copernicus project and growing to a team of four permanent employees plus six trusted freelancers by 2025.
What Sets Us Apart
We’re a small, agile team with a global reach. Despite our size, we feel at home managing complex national and international projects, work fluently in both German and English and bring more than 25 years of hands-on Microsoft Dynamics experience to every engagement.
Our team works entirely remotely from Germany – the Iberian Peninsula, Asia and South America – using agile methodologies. This flexibility allows us to respond to demands quickly whilst maintaining continuous working relationships with our network of programmers and experts.
Quality always takes precedence over quantity. We offer realistic, timely solutions and we’re not tied to a specific Microsoft technology – we use what’s best for our clients and their goals.
Supporting charitable work and sustainability isn’t just nice to have for us, it’s central to why we do this work.
Our Experience
Over the past five years we’ve delivered major projects for organisations including:
We’re a Microsoft Partner with partnerships including Companial Membership and Betalyra Ltd for AI projects. Bastian has spoken at Hamburg Colour Cloud and Dynamics Minds in Portorož, sharing our expertise with the wider community.
Our Expertise
Our core competencies lie in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 landscape.
We have particular expertise in setting up new software solutions for larger organisations and developing interfaces to integrate other systems into Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Rapsi Team
Meet the Founders
Bastian van Mierlo
Co-Founder
Bastian was born and raised near the German-Dutch border where he learned Navision programming, consulting and project management from scratch at a consulting company in Krefeld. Over 10 years there, he gained extensive experience across different sectors with a focus on associations and NGOs.
In 2011, he moved to the Bergstraße region where he worked as Application Development Manager for CBM International, managing international development teams and external partners. He graduated from Wilhelm-Büchner-Hochschule with a degree in computer science in 2015 and received PMP certification as a Project Manager.
In 2017, he took on the role of IT Manager at APOPO, an African NGO that trains rats in mine detection, whilst continuing to consult for CBM International. In 2019, he and his family decided to split their time between Windhagen in the Westerwald, where they could be close to family, and Portugal to live closer to the sea. Since 2020 he’s dedicated the majority of his time to growing the company.
Bastian used to be afraid of dogs, but when Solveig mentioned she couldn’t imagine life without them, he accepted his fate. Now their two adopted dogs love him more than they love her.
Solveig van Mierlo
Co-Founder
Solveig was born in Mozambique when it was a Portuguese province. Via South Africa, Iran, Portugal and Belgium, life led her to Bensheim where she met Bastian at CBM over an international vegetarian dinner.
With a degree in economics, Solveig always wanted to work in development cooperation.
She loved her work in the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, responsible for grant, financial and office management. When their daughter was born, she became a full-time mother whilst bringing her experience into Bastian’s company. She now works as a project manager on different projects and in company management.
Solveig has been fascinated by sharks all her life and used to read every book about them she could find. For her last birthday she received a megalodon tooth – something she’d always dreamt of owning.
Why Rapsi?
You might wonder what “Rapsi” has to do with software development. The honest answer?
Nothing at all.
“Rapsi” was the pet name for Bastian and Solveig’s newborn baby, which Bastian immediately secured as a domain name. Even though there are now other nicknames, we’ve kept Rapsi as our brand and logo.
For us, it represents the passion, responsibility and loyalty we bring to our work for our clients.
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