Cooperatives are the new zeitgest. With 8 of 10 of us already a member of a coop or mutual, they have been hiding in plain sight. Now they are coming out of the shadows as we become more and more aware of the need for a new approach to sharing. One that both emboldens the individual and yet recognises the value of the crowd. The re-emergence of co-operatives as a force in the global economy has begun…

Come along and hear from emerging co-operatives pitching to a panel of industry leaders and co-operative angels…what could be more fun?

Featuring:

• Loconomics Australia – building on the work done by the Loconomics team in the US, the local chapter is bringing the power of the platform to Melbourne.  Starting in the Inner North, they’re aiming to help community sharing without the middle-men or commissions – https://loconomics.com/
• bHive – a platform for the Bendigo community to gather, share and grow. They’re building a place to share community events and infrastructure. And they’ve got plans to share their platform with other communities around Australia – http://bhive.coop/
• Moose – a brand-spanking-new enterprise coop that aims to make software simple for cooperatives. It’s gathering technology that has been battle-tested in the wild to make a cost-effective and simple-to-use IT solution – Your Website plus Your App plus Your Member Registry in the one place.
• Monash Bike Share – https://monashbikeshare.com/ – the Monash Uni team have created Australia’s most successful bike share scheme. And they have plans to take their co-operative approach to the sharing economy into a grocery coop and community farm…

A panel of esteemed judges including:

• Duncan Wallace of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals
• Industry Fellow at the Centre for Social Impact, Krystian Siebert
• Lizzie O’Shea, lawyer to the people, writer, broadcaster and unionist.

Come along and add your own spice to a very different kind of shark tank…