It’s already been a busy month for the Co-operatives London co-op network, with three events in two days .
We teamed up with Hackney Co-operative Developments and Hackney Fairtrade network for a Principle Six business breakfast at the CLR James library in Dalston on March 9th. Thirty participants passed more than 60 referrals for new business opportunities, making it one of the most successful network meetups to date. Martin Pedrick from £3m turnover wholesaler Liberation Foods made an extended pitch to expand the market for their Fairtrade nuts, and there were plenty of newcomers to the network.
On March 10th we held a 2-part event in partnership with Co-operatives UK, sponsored by the Phone Co-op and hosted by AltGen at their excellent new space in Borough, south London. Maria Harder of Brighton University led a participative workshop on identifying and embedding non-financial values in co-operatives. In the evening we ran a second Principle Six business referrals session, featuring Harry Robbins from web developers Outlandish, who are about to transform themselves into London’s newest Co-operative Society. Outlandish will shortly launch a Fellowship scheme to support tech developers looking for funding to deliver socially positive projects. More than 40 referrals were passed between network members over the evening.
Principle Six events, facilitated by experienced business networker Siôn Whellens from co-op designers and printers Calverts, are growing in popularity as people realise the power of business referral networking to deliver what co-ops of all shapes and sizes need – more and better business. Watch this space for future events, or sign up to our newsletter.
Thanks to Blake House film makers co-op for the image, which features members of Ceramics Studio Co-operative in deep discussion at the values workshop.
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