amberra is the corporate venturing studio of the Cooperative Financial Network. It invests in startups, collaborates with startups, and develops ventures focusing on areas beyond banking, like housing, health, sustainability, and the regional economy.
In collaboration with the financial group and external partners, amberra is developing an ecosystem with near- and beyond-banking products and services, that prioritizes the needs of customers and members while strengthening regional structures. With the ambition to position the finance group as a comprehensive partner for life, amberra aims to build solutions that seamlessly extend banking into everyday life.
With little pre-existing infrastructure in place, amberra faced the complex challenge of establishing a comprehensive venture-building process from the ground up within the Cooperative Financial Network. This involved designing and implementing a structured framework covering all key phases while also defining governance structures to ensure long-term sustainability.
A key aspect of this was the seamless integration of the Cooperative Financial Network into each phase.
This required a tailored approach that allows the development of ventures effectively and leverages the strengths and market expertise of the partners without compromising efficiency.
Additionally, amberra needed to refine its strategic focus. The initial scope spanned broad beyond banking themes, including sustainability, housing, regional economies, and health. To drive impactful venture creation, it was critical to narrow down priorities and identify the most promising opportunities within the Cooperative Financial Network.
What we did
amberra needed to structure the core pillars of the venture-building process from scratch, including setting up a clear team structure and defining roles. Together with MVP Factory, they designed a structured process framework that covered the key phases, from Discovery to Go-to-Market, and developed governance structures to ensure oversight and accountability. Further, to enable effective collaboration, we established a strategy to integrate Cooperative Financial Network into the process, implementing tools and methods to standardize the systematic venture-building process.
Following the initial pilot, the venture-building framework was continuously reviewed and refined. We adapted and optimized process steps based on real-world learnings, refining workshop formats for partner collaboration. To ensure efficiency across all phases, we also established lean team structures, allowing for smooth collaboration.
To validate the framework, the process was piloted with the first network partner, focusing on "Beyond Banking" themes with strategic relevance for Cooperative Financial Network, specifically, sustainability paired with housing. This pilot involved running venture projects through all phases, from problem identification to validation, and identifying key problem areas and external market signals to determine viable opportunities. We tested business ideas both quantitatively and qualitatively and developed a structured playbook based on these insights and best practices.
Value delivered
Validated Three Business Models in CleanTech and PropTech, with Two Nearing MVP Development
Together with MVP Factory, amberra successfully completed three venture validations in CleanTech and PropTech, focusing on sustainable energy management and digital property services. Two of these ventures are now nearing MVP development.
We started with market research and stakeholder interviews to identify key industry challenges based on market trends and strategic priorities of the Cooperative Financial Network. Business hypotheses were tested and explored through customer discovery, expert insights, and early prototyping.
Throughout, the team worked closely with the Cooperative Financial Network to refine concepts and drive ecosystem-centric growth.
To support long-term innovation, we also developed a venture-building playbook that covers all phases, offers best practices for collaboration and governance, and provides tools to streamline ideation, validation, and execution. It provides guidelines for continuous improvement based on real-world insights.
"We are happy to have MVP Factory as a strategic partner. Their extensive experience in corporate venture building, methodological competence, entrepreneurial mindset, and expertise are invaluable to us."
The humans behind this project
