Collaboration regarding business advisory and financing for social economy
About this good practice
Coompanion helps the potential customer with business advise, making budgets and business planning. The customer gets an advisor who is "on their side". Mikrofonden will eventually say yes or no to their application. The advice from Coompanion is free of charge. The potential customer could contact Mikrofonden and be informed of the help they could receive from Coompanion or be in contact with Coompanion first. Either way works. They could also contact Coompanion during the process when they find out they need an advisor to live up to Mikrofondens requirements. The main stakeholders and beneficiaries are the banks that get a more prepared applicant, but also other business promotion organizations focusing on the regular business enterprises. The society also gets more sustainable social enterprises this way, but also more social innovations in numbers when social entrepreneurs get help to develop their idea and finally find capital to develop the business. The interest organizations, i.e. those organizing WISEs and those focusing on rural development, also benefit from this GP as well as of course the potential customers.
Coompanion is mostly financed by public funds. Coompanion has a basic grant from the Swedish Agency on Economic and Regional Growth, and funding from regions and municipalities.
Mikrofonden is a small organization. It consists of Mikrofonden Sweden and nine regional, independent Micro funds. Mikrofonden is financed by its founders - the social economy.
Resources needed
The coordinated collaboration between the two organizations is estimated to occupy approximately 10% of a full-time position within each organization.
Evidence of success
In Ramsberg, the local grocery store closed down. With the support of Coompanion, an economic association was formed. Mikrofonden contributed with a credit guarantee. This effective collaboration resulted in the grocery store generating a surplus. In Medåker, Coompanion supported the citizens to start an economic association to preserve the local school. Mikrofonden provided a credit guarantee. At the end the association was granted the right to operate the school.
Potential for learning or transfer
In order to implement this GP, there have to exist different kinds of advice organizations and financial institutions in the area. Building up the cooperation takes of course time, but the focus on the customer is the key to success.
We think this is a kind of Bootstrapping which is excellent for small organizations like Mikrofonden in order to offer the clients an added value (advice), the microfonds don't have resources to offer themselves. This cooperation started in the Gothenburg Region and has spread to six other regions in Sweden. In the other regions in Sweden Mikrofonden Sweden (the national organisation) takes care of the applications. That way the system works all over Sweden. This is an excellent way to scale up and spread the idea step by step.
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Good practice owner
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