The micro fund for social economy and local development
Coompanion, together with partners and the support of Leader Höga Kusten, will establish a micro fund to facilitate the opportunity for micro financing, advice, and support in business development for associations, cooperatives, and small businesses in rural areas to carry out planned investments where it may otherwise be difficult to solve financing, among other things.
About the project
Coompanion, together with various partners such as the Sports Federation, Hela Sverige ska leva, will create a structure for and establishment of a regional micro fund for the municipalities of Västernorrland. The micro fund will serve as a platform for social economy and create a support structure for micro financing such as bank guarantees, micro loans, or guarantees for loans as well as advice.
The micro fund acts as a complement to the existing financing system and primarily targets small businesses and associations, social enterprises, foundations, village associations, that have difficulty obtaining bank loans or solving financing in other ways.
To enable investments in rural areas, the micro fund will contribute with guarantees or micro loans so that small businesses, among others, can carry out their investments. The project will also create interest in the opportunities of the micro fund, ensure liquidity, and organize an establishment conference to attract financiers to the fund. The strength of the setup is that the micro fund is managed and operated by local and regional organizations with good knowledge of the local business community.
The micro fund is financed through operational grants and service fees from the state and county councils. Collaboration occurs with already established regional micro funds and Micro Fund Sweden. The micro fund will receive capital from individuals, organizations, and public actors who want to invest in locally anchored activities. To ensure that a broad group benefits from the fund's activities, the fund will focus on youth influence and establishment, equality, diversity, and equal treatment issues. Coompanion sees that in the long term, the micro fund will create several jobs and contribute to more businesses in the municipalities of Höga Kusten.
* The social economy is the third sector, thus not included in the private or public sector. It generates development in rural areas through, for example, road, water, and sewage associations and through fiber broadband associations and local heritage, sports, culture, and school associations, for example.
Project period
Project owner
Coompanion Västernorrland
Project manager
Susanne Vinderå,
Tel: 070-591 19 93
Email: susanne.vindera@coompanion.se
Web and social media
Website
Granted leader support
621,842 SEK
Regional co-financing
213 466 kr
Own financing:
92 814 kr
Total financing
621 842 kr
