What if we gave money to labels doing good things?
“Most women reinvest 90 per cent of their money back into their communities …” says So Just founder Jennifer Georgeson
One of the things often said about when re-visioning a better world is that the solutions exist; they’re just not being funded. Into this debate steps Koodoo, a new global equity crowdfunding platform that aims to address that: by connecting investors and entrepreneurs who are driving positive change, for people and planet, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose values underpin all the work.
The app launched in December, in the like-minded environs of the Conduit Club in Central London, where leaders in sustainable fashion and business gathered to share experiences and ideas. Amongst them were the the four campaigns that are kicking off Koodoo’s work: A-Y-T Fashion which works to transform the fashion supply chain, creating a blueprint for the rest of the industry; Cellular Agriculture, helmed by a former farmer and building tech to scale the grown meat revolution; Other Year, an anti-landfill sneaker brand, building fully circular footwear and hoping to challenge the way people think about and consume footwear.
The fourth is So Just Shop, an online boutique working with small scale women’s artisan groups, in India, South Africa, Colombia and Nepal and beyond. Accessories and homeware are hand-crafted by women in living in extreme poverty, disabled women, ex-sex workers, refugees, women viewed as outcast by society and survivors of domestic abuse and trafficking. Co-operatives provide women with literacy and numeracy lessons, creches and education for their children, an extended family, as well as a legal and safe form of employment, that pays them a fair living wage.
The focus on women is intentional. Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is central to every one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals with good reason. “Only by ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the goals will we get to justice and inclusion, economies that work for all, and sustaining our shared environment now and for future generations,” says the UN.
This is something that So Just founder Jennifer Georgeson knows well. Work with the Clinton Foundation in the slums in Mumbai to prevent chronic malnutrition in children under two taught her that, while education and support schemes were vital, funding was too erratic. “Ninety per cent of the children had malnutrition and [the educational schemes] were just not sustainable,” she remembers.
Plus, no matter how much mothers wanted to take care of their families, sometimes they just couldn’t. Working long hours for very little, mothers would leave their babies at home with their next oldest, sometimes as young as four.
Georgeson’s lightbulb moment came when she realised that even the poorest of women had some kind of traditional skill that could be put to use: “Study after study has shown that, by turning a skill into a full profit business and providing women with economic independence, it allows [women] to lift their families out of poverty.”
And the benefits of putting the power back into the mums’ hands spread would spread through a community. “One of the biggest risk factors was the mother earning little or no money - irrespective of how much fathers earned,” she adds, ruefully. “Most women reinvest 90 per cent of their money back into their communities …”
Today, So Just works with 50 different women’s groups in 20 countries around the world, providing technical and design support and platform, while encouraging the women to use traditional skills in contemporary designs. Groups include WomenWeave, in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, India, which has supported and developed the role of women in handloom weaving since 2002; Mata Traders, in India and Nepal; From Afar Crafts in Kenya,
“Our mission is always economic empowerment,” says Georgeson.
For a brand like So Just, what are the benefits of joining Koodoo? “It’s nice not to have to convince people that their money has the power to do good,” says Georgeson. “As a single founder and female, it’s hard. On top of that, it’s a profit business with a mission. People don’t understand how you can have both. Working with Koodoo provides us with an an audience that understands and makes the whole process a lot of easier.
“[Investors] need to have passion and understanding for the work as well as a business mindset. Because we're not a charity. By growing the business, we can impact on more women’s groups. The connections that many investors have can help us grow the business - and then we can support hose businesses in becoming more sustainable.”
Koodoo’s emergence is prescient, particularly in the past year, as the space for impact investment has opened up. Generation Z, in particular, is more keen than ever to support sustainable causes. Koodoo hopes to be at the forefront of that, offering businesses at all stages, as well as the opportunity to receive investment; and a simple, easy-to-use platform for investors of all ages to place their money.
Meanwhile, So Just is growing from strength to strength; a wholesale line works with more established manufacturers for higher margins; a bespoke line creates products for corporates. “And we’re developing a technical side to transparently track how the products were made,” adds Georgeson. “There’s an appetite for this in all areas.” More than anything, it’s the women themselves who continue to inspire. “There are so many stories from many of the women,” says Georgeson. “That’s a huge driver for the work we do.
