@mattcropp Always good to meet another #coop nerd! I see the #CoopFinance tag in your profile and I'm curious if you've stumbled across any way to participate in P2P lending to help develop cooperatives. Something like LendingClub but for patient, modest-rate lending to new coops.
@funwhilelost are you familiar with #SavingsPools?:
https://livingeconomies.nz/solutions/savings-pools
In #Aotearoa savings pools have helped people clear interest-bearing debt, including in some cases paying off mortgates. We use P2P relationships between many smaller pools to raise the savings necessary for larger loans. In one case our pool funded publication of a kid's book written by a member. In principle, savings pools could lend startup and expansion funds to coops.
@mattcropp
@strypey @mattcropp Thanks for the heads up and interesting link. Consensus decision-making means this fits small groups well. I really like the "being part of a group" aspect and how it dovetails with tool loans, worker bees, etc. For orchestrating larger loans (from multiple pools or individuals) I think that's where "Investment Clubs" come in and I'm excited to see how those develop.
@funwhilelost
> I think that's where "Investment Clubs" come in
How would this work differently from savings pools?
The pool we're in has financed loans of as much as NZ$20,000. Loans made between the pools are facilitated by a Savings Pool Association, which sets the protocols and provides legal templates for such arrangements. The largest loan we know of so far made by a pool of pools is NZ$130,000. The system has been built up over about a decade and is still growing steadily.
@mattcropp
@strypey @mattcropp I think they're synonymous with the "Savings Pool Association" in that they have just enough structure to satisfy any regulatory and legal hurdles. At least that's how I perceive the current ones.
