The banking trend away from the local economy, the self-employed and relationship-finance in general is not going to improve in any forsee-able future. And consequently parallel credit markets, most of them illegal, are flourishing all over places like Berlin, where people who do not fit into the new banking-norm are the norm.

To get access to finance users need to empower themselves to get beyond the banking thresholds, standards, client segments in which they are categorised. What can we learn in terms of empowerment from the various social banking movements worldwide: from the community banking movement started in Chicago, from the micro-finance movements in Asia and Africa, from the eco-banking movements in Europe and from the good old mutual banking movements of the past. Also, what sort of experience can we get out of the various P2P-finance platforms emerging in Germany?

In June’s free DIY Masterclass at SUPERMARKT, Marion Straßer and Christophe Gvené from Kreditunion will explain the idea of the Financial Empowerment through Social Banking.

Building on these various experiences what is the new Kreditunion self-help model recently started in Berlin taking from international models (in particular the Italian Confidi, the Irish credit unions, the Dutch Rabobank and the international village banking model) to make things better? What is it proposing to the people and communities concretely in the area?

But finally, what is it that the self-employed and micro-entrepreneurs in IT, Know-how-based and service sectors need, what sort of financial instruments would best fit their development ?

Speakers Bio:

Marion Straßer studied African Studies and Latin-American Studies in Berlin, worked in the CRM team of smava online credit marketplace and over the last few months has helped the Kreditunion with acquisition and product development, especially in the field of credits for group initiatives.

Christophe Gvené is an international expert in the various forms of social banking and domesticated finance, involved in research, policy design and institution building over almost 20 years. He is presently actively developing the Kreditunion, a new microfinance cooperative starting up in Brussels and Berlin.

This Masterclass is free. The language of presentation will be English.

RSVP: If you would like to attend, please send a short email to rsvp[a]supermarkt-berlin.net