Reclaiming Humanity
in the Economy
What Matters the Most?
Our Commitment to an Economy That Serves Humanity
What Matters is a global initiative for building regenerative community economies. It is sustained by the nonprofit CO-LAB for Future Economics in Vienna and its legal presence in South Africa.
Since our official inception in 2023 (and building on more than a decade of pre-fieldwork), we have been bridging the gaps between the core components of regenerative economic systems: community, technology, capital, and policymaking.
Guided by our mission to Reclaim Humanity in the Economy, we therefore co-create with communities in underserved settlements (like townships) across multiple countries. Our work unfolds within the informal economy.
From this practice, we contribute to a broader rethinking of how economies are designed, governed, and invested in.
What Matters is neither a charity nor a seller of dreams. We believe economies are a social practice and human-made. Therefore, open to intentional redesign to serve humanity.
What Matters is not a project. It is a conscious commitment to humanity and to an economy in its service.
From Community to Economy
How do you reclaim humanity in the economy? Tangible, practical? You begin with community and co-create the conditions that let a community become the economic agent of its own prosperity.
What we observed over decades of pre-fieldwork: every economy, whatever its paradigm, begins with people. However, economic development has long worked person by person, addressing the individual and the single business, and stopped there. But prosperity does not grow one person at a time. It evolves through relationships, trust, knowledge, and exchange.
Our understanding of the economy is plain. Businesses create value. Communities turn that value into a local economy by exchanging these values. So our work focuses on how that value is created and circulates within a community. We co-create the conditions for that circulation with community members, on their own ground, to build economies that serve people.
We call the infrastructure nodes that emerge from our approach
Community Economy Hubs.
The Hubs are our local implementation and research centers, co-designed and stewarded with communities.
Our Fieldwork Before the Hubs
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Globally
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South Africa
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Kenya
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Germany
The Foundation of Our Work
This foundation is informed by our philosophy and enacted through our principles.
Become our Partner
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Communities & Leaders
Our current focus is on township communities in South Africa and Kenya, while remaining open to collaboration beyond these locations.
We work closely with people who are shaping everyday life in their communities, e.g., local leaders, connectors, and socio-economic fabric weavers.
If our work speaks to you and the realities you are navigating, we invite you to reach out and explore how we might move forward together.
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Municipalities & Institutions
With deep, long-term relationships and an intimate understanding of local dynamics, we provide unique insight into the everyday economic and social life that drives communities.
If your work involves fostering inclusive community development, bridging policy and practice, or supporting community-led initiatives, we invite you to reach out and explore how we might collaborate to create change and lasting impact.
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NextGen Investors & Family Offices
While we are not seeking traditional investments, we are open to collaboration with NextGen Investors & Family Offices who understand that capital is more than money and the economy more than profit.
We are particularly interested in regenerative investment approaches, catalytic capital, and engagement that supports community-led economy development and systemic change. If this aligns with your vision, we invite you to reach out and explore how we might co-create together.
Support our Work
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is making a change in this world.
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