With 11Onze, you are pioneers: we are a fincom
For months we have been explaining what we are and why we are like this. It all responds to an idea: that Catalans can build our financial sovereignty. And, in the end, distilling and distilling, we have taken the shape we want: we are a community fintech, a fincom. And this model is a pioneer in the world.
Are there traditional banks? Yes, and we know how they work, that’s why we’ve dedicated a series of podcasts to protect ourselves from bank abuse. Community banks? Also exist! 11Onze President James Sène has often talked about how we have taken the example of African-American community banks in the United States. If you want to learn more about community banking, you can do so here. That fintechs already exist? Of course, they are an alternative model for the future, from which we have incorporated many ideas. But, in the world, 11Onze is a pioneer.
That’s why we needed a new word to explain ourselves: “fincom”, the contraction of fintech and community. And what does it mean to be a fincom? Imagine that we are like a small town, with a community of neighbours who want to specialise in the financial world. A fincom is a website where we learn to empower ourselves collectively.
And, as in any city, when you are part of the 11Onze community, you have La Plaça, a digital site that brings together all the services to build your financial independence: the financial institution, where you can open an account with El Canut; a school where you can Learn; a cinema and a radio with 11OnzeTV; a newspaper stand with the Magazine; and a neighbourhood with other users and the 24/7 attention of the agents. Later on, we will have a Marketplace where you can buy products and services. And, by the way, we even have our own currency, Les Peles!
So, if anyone asks you if 11Onze is a bank, the answer is simple: no, it is much, much more. Can 11Onze do everything a bank does? Progressively, yes, and we will do things that are unimaginable for a bank, because we are counting on you to do them. Let’s take a look back at how we have explained our fincom!
Episode 4 | Community fintech
“The project is very ambitious”
Episode 6 | Bank abuse: IBAN Discrimination
Episode 8 | Fintech with the best customers
Episode 9 | Tecnhology for people
Episode 5 | The Story of 11Onze
A fincom for people, made by people. This is one of the pillars of 11Onze and the raison d’être of the community, but how will this idea be implemented? We are speaking to team leader Lara de Castro.
De Castro is one of 11Onze’s team leaders and in this pre-launch phase, she is conducting the client service programme. When asked about the relationship with future clients, her answer is clear: “11Onze clients are our cornerstone. We want our relationship with them to be clean and always based on truth and transparency“. A vision that stems from the palpable client needs of being attended in a personalised way, listened to and advised in an ethical manner that looks after their interests. The aim, so, is that “whoever is a client of 11Onze may know that no information is hidden from them, and that is the most important thing, that they may always find support among the team of agents and also within 11Onze community itself”.
Online operations, proximity service
“Our value proposition is customer-centric, so we will be there whenever we are needed. Our attending hours will be 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” De Castro explains. A commitment that, beyond the corporate side, becomes a social commitment, as she points out: “Our commitment to the community is very strong. People who need us most will be much closer to us”.
To achieve such mission, they have the best possible ally: technology. “Our customer service is virtual. That is why we define ourselves as a fintech, because we have developed an agile and secure system to respond to all requests virtually and by telephone 24 hours a day. Even so, in the short term, 11Onze will have a physical location, which we will call 11Onze House, where agents and members of the community will meet to chat, discuss projects and offer solutions. There, clients will be able to meet us whenever they need something more specific that requires this face-to-face presence,” explains De Castro.
Accompanying clients to walk together
Since April, through La Plaça, members of 11Onze have been able to meet and visualize everyone who constitute 11Onze. In the next few days, this relationship will intensify and agents will be personally attending our first clients. “Each client will be assigned a main agent and two on-call agents. If clients see agents at La Plaça for whom they have a good feelings and would like them to be their agent, they will also be able to request it. 11Onze is sized to be able to take on this level of personalised attention”, says the team leader.
But she adds that behind 11Onze there are not only agents and that, therefore, “not all the profiles we see in La Plaça will be assisting customers”. “Although our company culture is based on the idea that we are all agents, due to 11Onze’s talent management, former agents are now occupying other positions that are also necessary within the organisation”, she points out.
La Plaça, the community’s epicentre
La Plaça will continue to be 11Onze’s central place, and one of the key communication channels for clients. This space allows them to visualize people who are attending them on the other side of the phone or chat, and to find out what they are like, how they talk or what topics interest them most. “La Plaça recreates the memory of a conventional public square, where people meet to see each other, share, chat or drink a good coffee, while reading the newspaper. At our Plaça this is also what happens, albeit in a virtual way. The Plaça is designed very accurately so that you can find valuable information, new learning in many areas and also interact with our organisation in a direct, face-to-face way”, concludes de Castro.
To find out more about whom the agents are and to discover how was the learning process that led them here, we invite you to revive it through The Academy documentary.
THE ARRIVAL. Chapter 1
Want an 11Onze account? Order batch in Get in line. With the code we’ll give you, you can open an account on October 1st.
11Onze opens its podcast to new voices, to discover inspiring stories of entrepreneurship, partnership, and cooperation. Behind every initiative there are People, and we will get to know them.
11Onze Podcast extends its offer to the followers of La Plaça. Until now, we have been able to listen to 11Onze executives talking about banking abuses, company’s values, training process for employees, and the communication and marketing strategy. But 11Onze has come to weave community, and Catalonia is one of the most dynamic places in the world in terms of associations and cooperatives. From now on, in the People series, we will be meeting people who promote projects of all kinds, starting today with Carol Giralt, director of the El Puig cooperative school in Esparreguera. In a conversation with 11Onze agent Mireia Cano, we discover what co-operative schools are, how they came into being, and how they are approaching the academic year which has just begun.
Episode 2 | People: Cooperative schools
After a year of pandemic, the festival returns to Barcelona stronger and more confident than ever. A must-attend event for lovers of design, innovation and craftsmanship.
What is Palo Market Fest?
The former Gal i Puigsech factory, in the middle of the industrial neighbourhood of Poblenou, has become a space of creative reference thanks to the Fundació Palo Alto, which has turned this venue into a cluster of artistic and cultural creation businesses. In addition, for some years now the venue has hosted the Palo Market Fest, which traditionally takes place on the first weekend of the month and, following the dynamics of the space, hosts a very special event where there is no shortage of brands of all kinds, culinary proposals from all over the world and live music to liven up the day.
The cradle of trends
Seven years after its creation, it has established itself as a reference market, both for locals and visitors, and currently has more than 30 design exhibitors for all tastes: jewellery, art, second-hand clothes, vintage, sustainable or accessories, in a selection of proposals for all sexes and ages. The wide range of artisan brands offers original and exclusive products that make the Market a unique experience.
Fourteen premium companies close the line-up with the most innovative proposals on the market, where emerging talent, design and functionality meet to create sustainable, quality products where less is always more.
The 3Ms of Palo Alto: eating, music and fashion
Live music fills every corner with the “Street music experience“, which livens up the day from different stages.
And also in terms of food, the Market has become the reference venue for the food-truck sector in the city. They manage to bring together all kinds of culinary and multicultural proposals, without forgetting healthy and vegetarian food.
Limited capacity and pre-sale tickets
This weekend is the last summer edition of the festival, which due to the pandemic restrictions is divided into two shifts: from 13:00 h to 18:00 h and from 18:30 h to 23:00 h, with a maximum capacity of 950 people. Admission costs €5 and can be purchased exclusively through the VERSE application. Children under the age of twelve and people with reduced mobility or disabilities and their companions will be admitted free of charge.
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If you are thinking of travelling this summer and want to get out of the usual beach and mountain circuit, in this article you might find some suitable proposals within Catalonia.
The summer of 2021 arrives as one of the most desired, in which many hope to return to the normalcy the pandemic took from us and to which, little by little, we are returning. The article What are holidays going to be like for Catalans? told you a recovery of 50% in tourism compared to last year, during which Catalans spent 42% less, is expected.
We are therefore preparing to enjoy a holiday knowing that the restrictions to travel are disappearing. It is time to select and discuss destinations, without forgetting that many wallets have suffered, and also that we may still be asked for expensive tests if our destination is abroad.
If we don’t want to spend too much or suffer a quarantine at our destination, it goes without saying that in Catalonia we have everything we need. Perhaps, however, we like something that comes out of the most well-known routes. Just in case, we will now propose several of those routes:
The gold in the Segre river
If you thought you had to go to the far west of California to look for gold, you were wrong. You can actually enjoy this experience for the whole family much closer: on the river Segre.
In these outings, which you can do from Balaguer during July and August, they explain why gold is found in the Segre river, they teach you how to look for it and distinguish it as the real seekers did and, if you find any, you can take it home.
The experience, which lasts about two hours, has very affordable prices: €8 for adults and €5 for children under 16. You can find all the information on Balaguer’s Museu de la Noguera website. If you decide to make this trip, you can also take the opportunity to visit and get to know its interesting archaeological, artistic, and ethnological collection.
Balaguer
The scenes of the battle of the Ebro
A key memory of our country, the Ribera d’Ebre has made a great effort to recover the spaces and scenarios that witnessed this decisive battle of the Spanish Civil War, and continues to work to disseminate it to travellers.
Deciding on these routes means entering anti-aircraft shelters, such as those in Flix or Font Gran in Benissanet; in trenches largely preserved, such as those of Berrús; camps of the Army Corps of the Ebro, such as the one we find in Ascó; defensive bunkers, such as Reguers; or castles that became a refuge for soldiers, as in the Middle Ages, and were heavily bombed, such as the castle of Mora d’Ebre and the castle of Miravet.
Ascó
At turismeriberaebre.org you can check routes, accommodation, where to eat, and everything you need to organise your trip. In addition, you will find many other proposals to enjoy in the area, such as navigating the Ebro with the Llagut lo Roget.
Sleep on the trees
For the more adventurous, in the counties of Girona, there is a very peculiar accommodation: the Tree-Top Cabins. Located in the middle of the forest of Sant Hilari Sacalm, these wooden huts are integrated into the landscape and allow you to literally sleep on the trees.
This is the first accommodation of this kind to be opened in the state and, as its founders say, it will allow you to disconnect absolutely from your routine and let yourself be absorbed by nature; you will even have to go to the main farmhouse if you want to charge your phone. Total relaxation.
The animals of the Pyrenees, in their environment
If you like walking in nature, but you want to know the fauna too, in Catalonia we have a good number of parks where you can observe the animals in their environment. We highlight two:
- The Zoo of the Pyrenees, located near Port del Comte, is ideal if you like birds. It offers many activities that help you get to know them and even be able to touch them.
- Molló Parc, in the middle of the Vall de Camprodon, in Ripollès, offers us a fabulous route during which we will find bears, foxes, deer, chamois, and even lynxes, as well as many other native species.
Molló
These are just some of the options that the country has to offer, but if you want more, you can consult the Turisme de la Generalitat website, where you will find all kinds of ideas. And get your suitcase ready.
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The network of female entrepreneurship Extraordinaria has become a space for cooperation and growth where thousands of women who choose to lead their own lives converge.
One in four small business is created and run by women. Whether out of necessity or vocation, the percentage of women entrepreneurs grows every year. We spoke with Gemma Fillol, entrepreneur and CEO of Extraordinaria, to find out how female entrepreneurship is lived from within.
Gemma Fillol. Photography: Lara López Fotògrafa
Let’s start at the beginning: what is Extraordinaria?
We are an organisation with an informative and associative attitude. We believe in a new business paradigm in which companies are at the service of the people. The companies many women are leading and building are not only based on economic benefit, but also on contribution. In the generation of wealth in a holistic way.
How was the project born?
The project stems from my personal need to meet other women with a similar path. It is very important that we create spaces of conversation, of true female generosity, for sharing not only in the professional but also in the personal sphere, for asking ourselves where our leadership is leading us.
What impact has it had on women entrepreneurs?
Extraordinaria’s growth and impact has been brutal. We started six years ago with 30 people and we currently have 700 members and 60,000 followers; we have given a lot of visibility to the entrepreneurial woman, we are building referents and spaces of authentic cooperation in accordance with feminine values.
What does women’s leadership mean?
For me, leading is giving, guiding, coordinating, collaborating, committing, helping, visualising, contributing, aiding… Precisely, women are great donors: we give life. I believe a lot in cyclicity and circularity: everything is born, reproduces, dies, and grows back.
Do we focus too much on gender differentiation?
Sometimes I’m not too sure if we should call this type of leadership feminine because, on the one hand, it’s not inclusive, but on the other hand, I think we also need to vindicate exclusivity, because we really live in a world and in a society that is not egalitarian. It strives, it tries, it is biased. And it’s deeply uneven: we don’t have the same opportunities.
How is Extraordinaria’s leader?
Very optimistic. The curious and resilient attitude is inherent in the entrepreneur; it is the essence of leadership.
Do we start a business, and lead, from emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is crucial, but also transversality, sustainable and organic growth, active listening, humility, transparency, vulnerability, communication … Everything that is done with a contributing will.
Why do we want to start a business? What can it bring us?
It brings us the possibility to live on our business and our talent, which should be like a fundamental right. We should focus on how women not only want to create economically sustainable businesses, but also human businesses. Taking care of women workers, generating a social impact. Companies are being built from somewhere else and this is very revolutionary.
How are these conscious businesses created?
For conscious businesses, those that go beyond generating money, at Extraordinaria we define three pillars: the first is the axis of the business, the business base. Then, the part of personal growth and leadership; here we could also talk about success, which in the end means fulfilling your desires, your dreams. And, finally, the creation of a network, of spaces to share from generosity, to say “I have fallen here, and this is my path, not yours, but I tell you in case I can help you.”
It is very important that companies manage to understand this new paradigm in which, if we all build beyond ourselves and add value, companies will be able to generate wealth for people, and not the other way around.
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The end of the restrictive measures caused by the pandemic is approaching. The gradual rise causes the streets, restaurants, and tourist areas to be filled with people. The desire to return to a life like the one before the COVID-19 is palpable.
The arrival of good weather and the gradual opening of shared spaces and the thickening of meeting groups smell of recovering the life we had before the outbreak of the pandemic. But what will this return be like? Will it be a burst of euphoria or will it be controlled?
Euphoria or prudence?
These are questions that everyone asks. Some people respond with more optimism and believe that the end of the restrictions will cause uncontrolled euphoria and most people will take to the streets to recover the moments of meeting and leisure that they had to sacrifice as a result of the health situation. Others, however, look at it with more caution and say that one must learn from the situation experienced, that one must take it easy and even make a paradigm shift when establishing our values in life. Both views have effects on the economic and social evolution of the globalised world we have created. Because society wonders if the situation has been due to the lifestyle and economy so far or has been random. Depending on the answer given, we will celebrate it in one way or another.
It is in this sense that some sectors most affected by the restrictions, such as tourism, leisure, and catering, which have to do with recovering the past lifestyle, look to the end with a double sense of euphoria and prudence, because they are not sure what the reaction of society will be. And this feeling of uncertainty is aggravated, too, by the ignorance of what the final evolution of the pandemic will be, because we must remember that it seems to pass, but it is not 100% eradicated.
11Onze Agent Mireia Sitjà talks about the importance of the tourism sector in the Catalan economy
Individual responsibility
It is clear that the data that are being published on the evolution of the disease indicate that we are on the right track. Vaccination and responsible behaviour of most people who continue to follow the directions of distance, hand cleaning, and mask use, is opening up a hopeful vision for the future.
As always, individual responsibility is key to successfully coping with the future that awaits us. Uncertainty still looms over us and makes it impossible for us to discern clearly what our reaction as a society will be when it is announced that this nightmare is over. Will we react like the society of the 1920s, with unbridled euphoria, to celebrate the end of the First World War and the Spanish fever pandemic? Will we have the reaction of some East German citizens when the Berlin Wall fell? These, at first, took it with joy and euphoria, but then fell into some kind of depression due to the consequences of having been so many years under a dictatorship that had them watched and controlled.
The reaction of each of us will be what will determine the overall style of celebrating the end of a situation that we did not expect or had anticipated. But how will we do it, with unbridled euphoria or with prudent euphoria?
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The 2021 summer season will be marked by fewer restrictions and more tourist offerings. Still far from the normality of before the pandemic, Catalans are preparing for the summer with optimism.
The vaccinated population in Catalonia is expected to reach 70% in July. This, added to the European passport that will speed up travel between European countries, and the progressive opening of ports, airports and cruise traffic, defines a new tourist panorama in which both supply and demand are increasing significantly.
What will summer 2021 be like?
With the prospect of recovering the economic activity lost with Covid-19, the Catalan Government and the Catalan Tourism Agency expect to recover 50% of tourism. In fact, according to a study, 75% of Spaniards will travel this summer, and 66.4% will do so within Spain.
The most popular options are still sun and beach destinations (41.7%), followed by rural or nature (26.3%) and culture (14.1%), figures that do not vary between Spanish and Catalan citizens. However, mobility will continue to be marked by social distancing and capacity limits in enclosed spaces.
11Onze agent Pol Baró gives us ideas for sustainable holidays
Fewer restrictions and more spending
Last summer Catalans spent 42% less on holidays, according to data from Cetelem. The average per person stood at €1,294 in 2019, a figure that fell to €754 in 2020. Given the outlook for the tourism sector, spending is expected to rise again, in a summer with more freedom of movement.
Bars and restaurants that are now open, the resumption of cultural activities, the revitalisation of national and international tourism and, above all, the increase in vaccination, which reduces social fear, will be key factors that will accelerate the economic recovery.
Tourism trends that will mark this summer
More nature, proximity and conscious tourism. Spending a summer in the middle of the pandemic showed that organising leisure and holiday plans is compatible with keeping a low budget or carrying out outdoor activities. Adaptation was forced, in some cases, but the response can be translated into the consolidation of an increasingly diversified tourism sector.
Cetelem found in its study that over the course of 2020, accommodation in hotels and flats has fallen from 52% to 34% in Spain, while stays in private or acquaintance accommodation have risen by 16 points.
In this line, new tourist accommodations are relying on originality and contact with nature through a wide variety of proposals, from tree cabins, bubble hotels, catamaran routes or glamping, a new style of glamorous camping that bets on new designs such as tipis or large tents, always in contact with nature. Motorhome and van trips have also skyrocketed in the last year, and the figures speak for themselves: 12% of people who had not planned to buy a motorhome will do so after the pandemic.
Far from shutting themselves up in a hotel or returning to mass tourism, consumers are looking for new destinations that offer them security and freedom. Once again this year, creativity when planing our holidays will be the great ally in adapting to the new circumstances.
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The fashion world has suffered one of the biggest downturns in history. The pandemic has changed consumer habits and brands have had to change their strategies: welcome to the new era of stock reduction. The sales will start on 23 June, a reason for consumers to rejoice and for many brands to replenish their wallets.
During the pandemic fashion brands have been hit hard, people could not go out on the streets and therefore could not shop. All the shops were closed and only started opening their doors a few weeks ago. First the small shops and gradually, following the security measures, the larger ones.
When do the summer sales start? Officially in Catalonia they are held from 1 July to 31 August, but the big brands in the sector have announced that they will start their sales earlier. Mango starts on 18 June, H&M on 20 June and Inditex starts on 23 June with online sales and in shops on 24 June.
Growth of up to 300% in online sales
Yerse, a company founded in Barcelona in 1964, “has had a pretty good time”, says Ingrid Tarragó, director of marketing and communication. “Adapting to the constraints, changing things and making decisions quickly to adapt sales to the needs of the consumer. Yerse’s online shop sales have increased by 300%”.
Tarragó explains that “fashion is experienced in different ways, people who still have money and have not spent it, you can see that they consume more in fashion, the value of the average sale has increased. There are also those who, emotionally, need retail therapy. Customer service is much more valued, personalised, and people are very aware of the environment”.
As for the sales, Ingrid tells us: “the forecast is good, it always is. Moreover, on this occasion, it coincides with the end of the restrictions and the state of alarm. The summer sales will have the best discounts. In short, everything is a paradox: sustainable, long-lasting purchases, but in the end we are driven by price and opportunity”.
Sustainable fashion - 11Onze
Sustainability, slow fashion and short collections
There is talk of new trends, the new slow fashion and sustainability, this crash has compelled brands to change their ways, they have learned to have a smaller stock and smaller collections, fast fashion is in decline.
The sales are just around the corner and the prognosis is very favourable. People have not been spending for many months. The proximity of summer is raising adrenaline levels and the mood is lively and people are eager to leave behind one of the worst years in human history.
Brands have to take advantage of this and use their best marketing tools and sell all those clothes that haven’t been touched and tried on for months.
Bigger discounts are the norm, we have to take into account the economic crisis we are experiencing, so if they want to finish the season with positive numbers they have to lower the sales margin and help consumers renew their wardrobes.
What has happened during these months?
Brands which already had an e-commerce platform, which is the same as an online shop, have been able to cover the costs with the sales that have been derived from this line. The online world has increased sales by a very high percentage and is expected to continue to grow.
However, brands that had opted for physical shops have fallen more quickly, the months of closure have brought ERTEs, ICOs and in many cases shop closures. There is a long list of brands with years of experience that have not overcome this moment.
If we talk about the consumer, we can confirm that their mentality has changed, their spending habits during the weeks of confinement, it was said that people had tidied up their wardrobes and were surprised by the amount of clothes they had and did not wear. This reflection means that from now on their impulse to buy will be different. Before going to the checkout, many people are going to ask themselves: do I need it?
Now it is time to start again. Fashion brands have probably learned a lot from this pandemic. It is clear to them that there cannot be big stock-outs. It is a great time to think about sustainable fashion and to go back to pampering the customer. Something that, from 2022 in Barcelona, will also be possible on Sundays and public holidays.
For the time being, from 1 July to 31 August, shops will have a good opportunity to boost sales and give people back the desire to buy the latest fashion to wear this summer.
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You may be wondering what is 11Onze Plaça all about.
11Onze is not a bank. 11Onze is a community that will offer financial services for its members. And it does so through this space that you find here, and that we have called La Plaça, for everything that evokes us.
And who is a member of the 11Onze community? Everyone who chooses to be so.
Customers, founders, institutions, leaders, workers, all those who have chosen to benefit from the performance, services and exchange of knowledge that will take place in 11Onze Plaça, from today, are members of the community.
I just want to tell you that 11Onze only makes sense if you, the members of the 11Onze community, improve financially. In short, if you increase your power to make better and better decisions in everything that has to do with your money. This will be the success of our digital fintech community.
Welcome to 11Onze Plaça!
