Design cooperative ecosystems, model them viably, test them at low risk
We help organisations, cooperatives and networks turn shared challenges into working cooperation, platform and business models. To do this we combine ecosystem mapping, platform design, governance, business modelling and prototyping into one continuous development process.
When everyone could benefit from one another – but the connection is missing
In many sectors the necessary actors, offers, resources and technologies already exist. And yet no viable cooperation emerges:
Those involved don't know each other's needs and resources.
Supply and demand remain invisible across organisations.
Shared interests don't yet translate into a shared business model.
Ownership, responsibility and co-determination are unresolved.
Digital solutions are built before their concrete value is validated.
New payment and financing models look promising but initially add complexity.
Pilot projects fail on missing coordination, not necessarily on the technology.
We create a structured framework to develop a capable ecosystem out of this fragmented landscape of actors.
Our approach
From a complex ecosystem to a proven model
1. Design
We make visible who belongs to the ecosystem, which problems and resources exist, and which interactions can create mutual benefit.
2. Model
We develop and compare business, governance, financing and participation models. This clarifies who contributes what, who decides, and how the ecosystem sustains itself in the long term.
3. Test
We translate the prioritised model into simulations, prototypes and a limited pilot with real actors – before major development or investment decisions are made.
Cooperation doesn’t arise from technology, but from clarity about who contributes what and who benefits.
Offer
Seven building blocks for viable cooperation
1
Ecosystem Check & Mapping
We identify relevant stakeholders, cluster their roles and examine problems, resources, relationships and dependencies in the existing system. We ask:
Who has which problem?
Who holds suitable resources or capabilities?
Who enables access?
Who decides and funds?
Who bears risks?
Which actors have so far been insufficiently considered?
Result: An ecosystem map with prioritised opportunity areas, anchor actors and initial interaction hypotheses.
2
Cooperative Platform Design
We design the interactions that a cooperative ecosystem should enable. Together we develop:
central exchange and matchmaking processes,
value propositions for each stakeholder group,
roles of providers, users and intermediaries,
access and participation rules,
ways to pool demand and resources,
digital and analogue touchpoints.
Result: A prioritised interaction and platform model.
3
Governance & Participation Design
Cooperation needs not only transactions but comprehensible rules. We clarify:
Who shapes the ecosystem?
Who may make binding decisions?
Who owns the platform, data and brand?
How are different stakeholders represented?
How are economic benefits distributed?
What role does an anchor organisation play?
Is a platform cooperative, a consortium or initially a contractual cooperation the right fit?
Result: A governance model with roles, decision rights and possible operating structures.
4
Business Modelling
We develop several economic options separately and compare them systematically. We consider both the ecosystem as a whole and the business model of a potential operating organisation:
Who is the customer?
Who receives which benefit?
Who is willing to pay?
Which costs arise?
Which services are financed collectively?
Which revenues, savings or efficiency gains are possible?
How large must the ecosystem become to sustain itself?
Result: Assessed business-model variants with a comprehensible sequence for piloting and scaling.
5
Cooperative Finance & Incentive Design
Not every ecosystem needs its own currency. But every ecosystem needs a clear logic for money, contributions, risks and economic participation. We examine and design:
classic euro payments,
shared budgets,
project-based financing,
member financing,
automated revenue distribution,
time and service credits,
bonus and incentive models,
programmable payments,
regulated stablecoins,
complementary currencies.
Result: A comprehensible payment, financing and incentive model, including risks and regulatory requirements.
6
Simulation & Prototyping
We make abstract models tangible. Depending on the question, we develop:
moderated ecosystem simulations,
role-play and transaction games,
service journeys,
clickable platform mockups,
marketplace and member interfaces,
wallet and payment flows,
project and impact dashboards.
Result: A testable concept prototype and qualitative feedback from the future participants.
7
Minimum Viable Ecosystem
A technical MVP alone isn't enough if providers, users and operators haven't yet found a working interplay. So we build the smallest possible but genuinely working slice of the planned ecosystem. At its centre are one anchor organisation, a clearly defined user group and a few selected providers. Together they form a manageable system in which one to three concrete interactions take place and can be tested through a simple fulfilment process. The pilot is complemented by measurable success criteria and a realistic operating model.
The result is a low-risk pilot that shows not only whether the application works technically, but above all whether the interplay of the actors involved holds up in practice.
Case Study
MAKOWI: a regenerative financing model for the social economy
With MAKOWI we designed a digital marketplace for the cooperative and public-benefit economy. The starting point was the core challenges of social and cooperative organisations: low visibility, fragmented demand, missing liquidity and dependence on grants – as well as money flowing out to external platforms and providers. We examined the relevant actors and their roles, developed possible interactions and made the model tangible in talks, workshops and a stablecoin game.
This produced a holistic marketplace model with a wallet and payment process, a complementary-currency logic and a liquidity and impact dashboard. It was complemented by several revenue models and a financing and investment model. The key insight: technical implementation is rarely the first hurdle. What matters is an urgent shared problem, a financeable anchor, viable incentives and the social coordination of the ecosystem. MAKOWI is thus a reference for how we design cooperative platform models, model them economically and surface their central assumptions early.
What began with the cooperative economy can work wherever actors achieve more together.
Fields of application
Cooperative platform models aren't limited to a single sector
Housing & neighbourhood
Housing cooperatives can connect members, local providers and shared infrastructure. We show how.
Energy
Energy producers, consumers, municipal utilities, housing companies and citizen energy cooperatives can develop local energy and investment models.
Financial services
Members, customers, financial institutions and regional businesses can develop new forms of shared financing and economic participation.
Insurance
The insured, insurers, prevention providers and local networks can move from pure claims settlement to shared prevention ecosystems.
Mobility
Vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators, municipalities, housing companies and users can organise mobility as a shared ecosystem.
Regional supply
Producers, processors, retail, restaurants, canteens and consumers can better coordinate demand, logistics and financing.
Self-employed
Self-employed people can organise beyond classic intermediation platforms and build shared infrastructure.
Common-good economy
Social enterprises, cooperatives and public-benefit organisations can connect supply, demand and financing in a shared economic space.
What cooperation would be possible if problems, resources and interests were connected in the right way?
In a first conversation we look at your starting point, possible anchor actors and the question of which next step makes sense.
