Be Bio: my first P2P investment with Friendsclear

Microfinance is something pretty new in France. A couple of months ago, Jean-Christophe Capelli launched Friendsclear Pro, a collaborative website where investors and entrepreneurs can meet.

This website is original because investors can invest as little as 100 euros. Even if you are not that well-off, you can show your support and confidence in a project. When enough investors have backed the project to collect the total amount requested by the entrepreneur, the loan is granted.

As far as I am concerned, I decided to invest into Be Bio. The company has existed since the end of 2009 and is using Friendsclear to finance a new investment. Their activity consists in delivering organic food baskets to employees where they work. Given the momentum on the organic market in France these days, this is definitely a good niche.

What I like about Friendsclear is that:

• this is a new way for entrepreneurs to raise money
• it is a good way to foster entrepreneurship and to help risk-takers
• investors can expect a good return, up to 4.25%
• investors can fine-tune their risk, since investments can start with 100 euros only
• this is one step more towards a cooperative economy, which I have been advocating since 2004!

To learn more about Friendsclear, just visit their website: www.friendsclear.com

Wikiloan, social network for peer-to-peer lending

Will the world of finance be shaken by new business models induced by the cooperative phenomenon, as it happened for music, movies and the press? At least, P2P banking and lending are unquestionably on the rise. The latest news in this market comes from WikiLoan, a P2P lending platform that plays the social network card. Just like on Twitter, you can post there short messages, follow contacts and be followed. But the main goal of the site is to allow members to lend to and borrow from each other. You can apply for a loan or conversely lend money in various categories: debt consolidation, education, home improvement, organizing events, etc.. The borrower and the lender can agree on the rate and repayment terms. The site makes its revenues from different types of commissions such as flat fees or percentages on lent amounts.

In April, WikiLoan will launch a new offer: the distribution of prepaid phone cards and other cards to pay for small purchases. This offer mainly targets people excluded from the traditional banking system, that is to say an average 28 million people in the United States. They will be able to buy cards in up to 20,000 small local shops around the US. In other words, WikiLoan is progressively building a click-and-mortar social network for P2P lending , relying on virality to extend its share of market.

5 reasons why you should be present on several professional social networks

In recent years, professional social networks have become mainstream: Linkedin, Viadeo, Xing, to name only the most famous ones. Having an account in several of them seems to be synonymous with a lot of work. You need to update your profile on each and everyone of them and manage various networks of contacts. Is it worth it ?

I think it is a great opportunity for your career and you should seize it for 5 main reasons.

1. Each network has a special focus
2. Creativity pays in the use of online social networks
3. Online networking should be a task with a time allowed to it
4. Online networking is a mid-term investment
5. Social networks are mostly free