Platform Cooperatives Germany eG (Platform Cooperatives eG) is a Berlin-based cooperative that supports the creation and growth of digital, member-owned businesses in Germany. It focuses on projects where ownership and control of online platforms rest with workers, users or communities rather than external investors.
The cooperative was founded on 26 November 2019 as a registered cooperative (eG) by a group including Andreas Arnold, Claudia Henke and Thomas Dönnebrink. Its office is in Berlin, with activities that reach across Germany via online tools and partner networks.
Platform Cooperatives eG emerged after several years of informal work around platform cooperativism in Germany. According to its own account, it first built an innovation network for platform cooperatives with funding from private foundations and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs. Later, it became a partner in “Social Economy Berlin,” advising social enterprises and co-ops in the city, and more recently received support through the EU-funded “REACT with impact – Promoting Social Entrepreneurship” program.
The organisation’s main work is hands-on support for cooperative startups with unusual governance structures, international membership, and digital business models. Examples include involvement in projects such as Circles, a blockchain-based community currency aiming at basic income, and SuperCoop, a member-run supermarket. It is currently developing “rebuild co:op,” a prototype digital platform intended to help founders with funding models, governance, community-building and business planning, combining peer-to-peer advice with technical tools.
Beyond individual consulting, Platform Cooperatives eG works on questions of cooperative law for cross-border digital organisations, organisational design at scale, and mechanisms for collective fundraising.