Ida Meglio, after concluding the Master programme of ASVI Social Change, tells us about her story from the field, the field of innovation with social vocation. A story about success, great satisfactions, awards and beautiful projects for the near future.
“This is my story, not everyone knows it:
Sociallending is an intuition that I had during a Master’s dissertation in Management of the Social Enterprise at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (UNICAS).
Right before entering in ASVI Social Change, while preparing the dissertation, I started my studies with the book Social Innovation and Social Business, edited by ASVI Social Change. In particular, the muse was the chapter on the Business model Canvas for social enterprises, written by Alessandra Moscatelli and Stefano Supino, where the declination of the Social Canvas for the microcredit was analysed, with the example of Grameen Bank, Kiva and MCY4.
Once with the Social Change School, with the Master MES in Social Business and Social Innovation, I started to project my Social Business, always with reference to the people and what I had started with, also taking advantage of the excellent suggestions given me by the teaching staff. In particular, beyond the names that I have already mentioned, a big help was given by Chiara Buongiovanni for what concerns the creation of a community and active participation, essential in the crowdfunding, and also the support of Maria Carla Cardelli for what concerns the corporate fundraising aspect.
This path, and meeting those people, lead me to the foundation of Sociallending Association, soon innovative start up and with social vocation and to project the Crowdlending platform: sociallendingitalia.net on which I am working, no more by myself, but in a team, having created a very close team with the two people the idea was born (Alessandra Moscatelli and Stefano Supino).
What is SociallendingItalia.net now:
SociallendingItalia.net is a crowdfunding platform based on the Social Lending (P2P Lending). The platform is focused on the Social Networking, and on a logic of financial disintermediation; the platform offers to young Italians and second-generation foreigners, living in Italy, that want to start micro-enterprises or take up an activity of self-employment, the opportunity to take advantage of micro-lending even with symbolic interests rate. Previously, a careful evaluation of the business idea and followed by a formative support, in order to generate and/or strengthen the business competences.
Through its work, SociallendingItalia.net intends to:
1)Contrast the effect that the Credit Crunch had on the access to the credit; of individuals that, even if willing to start a business, are lacking of guarantees and adequate savings, in a context of more stringent constraints;
2)Create occupation within the Italian and foreigner young people;
3)Facilitate, through the self-employment and the micro-entrepreneurship, the social integration of risk categories like NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training).
As a part of the team, I look after the aspects related to the sector of bottom-up funding and crowdfunding; Alessandra manages the platform and the digital and community strategy and Stefano, that as a teacher of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the UNICAS, looks after the phases of start-up and is the Sociallending Advisor. Moreover, we collaborate with Lucio Meglio-sociologist and teacher at the UNICAS – and legal experts always related to the Cassino University. A special thank to the Cassino University, as it is helping me to develop my idea and realize my dream. Sociallending is in fact, officially incubated as social vocation start up, by the ImprendiLab, the laboratory of entrepreneurial culture and methodologies of the UNICAS – directed by the Professor Francesco Ferrante.
A very felt thank to my team: that supported me in the difficult moments, with seriousness, friendship and rigour. The path of a start-up is always full of obstacles, but believing in it and fighting for the own ideas until the end, allows, sometimes, to reach unexpected goals. After the entry in the ImprendiLab, I realized and reached a campaign of crowdfunding reward on the TIM platform: WithYouWeDo. It was a difficult time and of incessant work, but in the end I achieved this important objective. The satisfactions have increased when my start up was inserted, thanks to the mention ‘New Technologies’ of Riccardo Luna, between the “100 stories of Creativity” of the “Volume e Portale Lazio Creativo 2016”. In April 2016, I was partner of the Crowdfest 2016, the first Italian festival for the crowdfunding. Last but not least, I have been recently called to be part of the Italian delegation that next September will participate to the European conference “Crowd Dialog Europe”.
This is my story. This is my path. This is Sociallendingitalia: my startup. In the end, this is my small effort in trying to change the world in a better place”.
Photo Credits Antonio Barrella
