- Koop57 is not a bank, but a financial cooperative. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the projects it finances are ethical and cooperative and that before granting a loan to each of them, its social contribution and economic viability are analysed in depth. Its members have explained that "this is a very powerful tool for sovereignty, which has many possibilities. We decide what to fund with our savings will be beneficial for Euskal Herria. Inter-cooperation is a way of putting it into practice, giving cooperative projects independence in terms of money, and that's a lot in today's world." In these seven years, Koop57 has lent a total of EUR 1,344,000 to 36 projects across the Basque Country.
Koop57 was born 26 years ago in Catalonia and is his seventh year in the Basque Country. Although it is a single cooperative, it is organized by plots and the whole of the Basque Country forms a plot. On the Basque Country plot there are 160 "partner" who deposit their savings and 26 "partner services" who are eligible for funding.
Promoting beautiful projects with savings: Do you want to be a "partner"?
With their own savings in Koop57, the citizen or entity will make a very useful contribution to the money they do not need at the time: lending a loan to cooperative projects in the Basque Country that need funding
With your own savings in Koop57, the money you do not need at that time will be of great use to the citizen or entity: to give a loan to cooperative projects in the Basque Country that need funding. Any person or entity may be a partner: The capital to be provided is EUR 300, from which savings can be deposited in Koop57 if desired. "There's no problem in getting savings out tomorrow. The money can be taken out and put in and if you want to stop being a full member, you have the possibility of recovering those 300 euros of capital." Savings can enter or leave through the virtual office and through this tool each can follow their economic movements.
The collaborating partner will receive every six months a newsletter containing information on the projects to which it has been provided and other information. It may participate in two annual assemblies for decision-making: "There are partners with different levels of involvement. Some put their savings and don't want to participate in the assemblies." All partners are given the opportunity to participate in the three Koop57 committees: social committee, technical committee and management.
(All the information is available on the website and the possibility to become a partner).
To which projects should loans be granted? Partner services
in total, EUR 1,344,000 have been lent to 36 projects: Euskal Udalekuen Abaigar etxea, Boga garagardoa, EHNE Bizkaia, Zetene pastak, Asaken lan verticals, Consonni liburu edizioak, Tapuntu kooperatiba...
They are entities that can use Koop57’s partner services, loans or services and that have to have a specific legal personality: cooperative, partnership or foundation. "Many entities become members of Koop57 to ask for funding, but others do not. If one day they need funding, they have a tool there and in the meantime they have their savings in order to finance other projects."
For example, Koop57 has financed the work of the house Abaigar where the Basque Colonies are celebrated, the beer Boga, EHNE Bizkaia, the ecological pastas Ano, the vertical works of Asak, the editions of books Consonni, the cooperative Tapuntu... a total of 1,344,000 euros have been lent in 36 projects. But Koop57 members say they want more: "At this point in the Euskal Herria plot there are more savings than projects. We have a saving of EUR 1,703,000. And that's not the goal, Koop57's goal is to fund projects."
Have a strong social base, the best loan guarantee
In Koop57 there are three working groups: social committee, technical committee and steering committee. The Social Committee analyses whether the entity that wishes to be a service partner is in line with Koop57’s model and philosophy. To find out, they meet the project that they want to be a partner, interview the partners and prepare a report on which the management decides whether they can be partners or not. Being a service partner does not necessarily mean that you are going to apply for a loan, but when you do, the technical committee is going to work to analyse whether the project can be economically viable. This also makes a report and the management decides whether or not the loan is granted. "An effort is made to know each project, the valuation begins on the social side and then the feasibility is analyzed and, of course, to be able to borrow, this project has to be viable."
The applicant for the loan must submit joint guarantees: the persons and entities supporting this project must complete the requested amount in bonds.
One of Koop57’s particularities is that the borrower must submit joint guarantees, i.e. that the persons and entities supporting the project must complete in their bonds the amount of money that has been requested, indicating that they trust and that this project will bring benefits to the sector or to an environment and that they are prepared to put an amount if it is not correct. "The pooled guarantee shows that there is a network behind the project for which the loan has been granted, which has a base," he said.
Hauspotu (Udalbiltza)
"We have participated in the Hauspotu programme, enabling a credit line of 250,000 euros, to promote projects of transformative social economy in certain regions of the Basque Country suffering from depopulation and lack of services".
Olatukoop
"We have contributed to the creation of the Olatukoop fund. This network of transformative social economy is developing its own inter-cooperation mechanisms. Through the tools of Mutualism, the goal is to develop the resilience of the transformative social economy and autonomy in collaboration. Koop57 will enable a credit line to facilitate this economic partnership."
Foundation
"The objective is to reach a place where a cooperative does not arrive, in parallel to the work carried out by Coop57. From the same intersection – cooperativism, ethical finance, transformative economy – and from the same objectives: social transformation, the promotion of cooperativism and the acquisition of new players in the transforming social economy. From a totally post-capitalist, feminist, environmentalist and anti-racist point of view, to respond to the needs and emergencies of today’s world. The Foundation also intends to anticipate the challenges of the future in order to detect shortcomings and innovate on the horizon of all political, social and economic democracy".
FICHE
What it does:Ethical and solidarity services of refining.
Total participants: 186. 160 partner partners and 26 service partners.
Residence: Donostia-San Sebastián.
Contact: euskalherria@coop57.coop