Direct Global is excited to announce the Downtown Guelph BIA (Business Improvement Area) in Guelph, Ontario, the York-Eglinton BIA in Toronto, have, together with Direct Global, co-founded the Direct Co-operative (Direct Co-op) – a multi-stakeholder co-operative that is owned by its members. The Downtown Guelph BIA is headed by Marty Williams, who also serves as the President of OBIAA (Ontario Business Improvement Area Association) representing all Ontario BIAs and more than 100,000+ local businesses.
This comes after a monumental week for Direct Global, beginning with the Caravan of Courage which took place in 4 cities simultaneously (Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco) uniting gig workers and small businesses, followed by the endorsement from the United Nations under its Sustainable Development Goals, which was led by Stephen Belafonte, a Hollywood film and music producer and director, known for such movies, as Mutant Chronicles, Thank You For Smoking, The Bad Lieutenant and more.
“The BIAs have been instrumental in strengthening communities for decades by truly representing their small business members and with Marty’s leadership and insight, there couldn’t be a greater first step in establishing the Direct Co-op and truly disrupting the disruptors together.” said Ahmed-Attia, President CEO of Direct Global, a co-founding partner in Direct Co-op.
The Direct Co-operative leverages the Direct Global platform to network and unite the buying power of the members of member-based associations, co-operatives and unions, who share common interests and believe in principles of fairness. In the second phase of its development, the Direct Co-op will include associations, unions and co-ops as its co-founding stakeholders.
Direct Co-op aggregates the demand of its members (most of whom are group purchasers or participate in group purchasing themselves) in a way that brings purchasing power and efficient shipping to participants of all sizes and from all sectors.
By utilizing Direct Global’s platforms, stakeholders of the Direct Co-op, as well as their members – including small and medium-sized businesses – will enjoy a free online storefront and app, a voting platform, a communication tool and the ability to reach consensus on products and issues of importance to each member organization. Members will have access to member savings programs, services and discounted wholesale shopping allowing them to save up to 50% on their purchases. In addition, members will enjoy discounted transportation and delivery costs through Local Driver Co-op – a driver-owned co-operative being established alongside Direct Co-op and co-created by Direct Global, to bring equity, fair compensation and better working conditions to the ride-hailing and courier delivery sectors. Local Driver Co-op drivers will get 90% of the revenue, allowing the consumer to save up to 30% versus the incumbents.
Both the Direct Co-operative and Local Driver Co-op are being established with the support of Community & Co-operative Counsel with the leadership of Elliot Bridgewater and Bill Oemichen.
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