Signalise Co-op is growing and we want YOU to be part of it!

Nicky Evans • Apr 27, 2021 • 3 min read

You may have seen that Signalise Co-op is now running a Community Share offer. These are a way for community groups or businesses to get investment. This can be needed for a number of reasons… for example, I recently invested a small amount in my local library, who needed the money to finish renovations. Others use them to buy buildings or to pay for particular projects.

For Signalise, we need the money to finish the development of our platform and video interpreting service, to employ more staff and to ensure we have the money we need to be able to pay our BSL interpreters and other communication professionals before the money we charge for these services are paid to us.

We wanted to make sure that as many people within our community could invest as possible, so the minimum investment is £50. We hope that this is affordable. It is an investment and you will receive interest (just like you do if you put money into the bank).

As an investor, you get a say in how the co-op is run by being given a vote. Unlike other members, your vote is weighted. This is to make sure investors can’t come in and take over and that the control stays with the user members (Deaf people) and worker members (BSL interpreters/other communication professionals).

We have already started providing interpreters and you can already use us for bookings and our platform and video interpreting service will be launching in May.

The platform is a website which allows you to find and choose which interpreter you would like to use. You are able to “favourite” interpreters, so you can quickly find the interpreters you like to work with. Posting a booking is a quick and easy process and there is always support on hand if you get stuck!

Our video interpreting service will also be launching soon. This is an area we will be developing further and so you can choose whether you would prefer a face to face interpreter or to use a remote interpreter. We will never make this choice for you and fully support NUBSLI’s #RightsReclaim campaign!

We are using a service called Ethex to help us collect investments. They are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and they do all the checks needed before someone can invest. Before you can invest, you need to fill in your details and answer some questions to show that you have understood that there is a risk involved in investing in any business or community project. Everyone who invests in any Community Share offer has to do this. We have a BSL translation of our FAQs available and hope this will help you understand more about the share offer.

Our Ethex page is here.

Our BSL translation is here.

In Signalise, we have a unique opportunity for Deaf people and BSL interpreters to work together to create a business that works for everyone. We can bid for contracts, have discussions with commissioners and with the profit we make being reinvested, can come up with new and innovative ways of working.

This is the first time that Deaf people are being involved in the designing and running of a service and it has led to lots of valuable insights into what others are missing. We are so excited about what we can achieve together and are proud of being able to lead the way, as we see the Merseyside service (which is our pilot area) being replicated all over the UK.

Have any questions for us? You can contact us at: hello@signalise.coop.