SMartDe eG

What SMartDe eG does

SMartDe eG is a Berlin-headquartered cooperative (Genossenschaft) founded in 2015 that employs self-employed professionals and collectives, combining the autonomy of freelance work with the security of statutory employment. The cooperative serves freelancers across education, management consultancy, marketing, IT, and other service sectors, as well as client organizations that engage freelancers through Smart. Members retain ownership of their client relationships and assignment terms while Smart acts as the legal employer, handling invoicing, payment guarantees, tax compliance, social security contributions, and expense reimbursements. The organization is part of a pan-European Smart network originating in Belgium in 1998, which collectively serves over 100,000 members across six countries.

The core product is the Smart Portal, an in-house platform co-developed with Smart Austria over 2.5 years and launched in February 2024, which automates order management, budget administration, expense reimbursement, employment status tracking, and collective budget workflows. Adjacent products include the Smart Guide (a continuously developed knowledge base), Mein.Smart (Nextcloud-based file storage), the WorkCoopHub physical and digital workspace (opened January 2025 in Berlin-Kreuzberg), the Grantspace programme for social/ecological/feminist projects, the Smart Community networking layer, and the wholly-owned Smart Bildungswerk gGmbH education subsidiary. Technology integrations are limited to commodity SaaS: Nextcloud, Mailchimp, and LinkedIn.

Revenue is generated through a 9% transaction fee on the net invoice amount of projects processed through the cooperative, with no fee applied to work realized outside Smart. Members are acquired via free weekly online info-sessions in German and English, followed by personal consultation and Smart Portal registration; client organizations are reached through direct outreach and network reputation. As of January 2025, SMartDe eG had over 1,000 members including 300+ employed freelancers, supported by a small core team with a two-person Vorstand (Magdalena Ziomek and Alicja Möltner) and a five-person Aufsichtsrat chaired by Prof. Dr. Dominika Wruk. The cooperative is funded by member fees plus project grants from BMWK and Erasmus+ (EU), with no external private equity or venture capital.

Name

SMartDe eG

Legal name

SMartDe eG – Genossenschaft für Selbständige

Website

https://smart-eg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SMartDe eG is a Berlin-based German cooperative that employs self-employed freelancers and collectives, combining freelance autonomy with statutory social insurance, invoicing, and payment guarantees via its Smart Portal in exchange for a 9% transaction fee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cooperative Employment Services

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Payroll, Earned Wage Access & Benefits Finance (FSAGALAI)

Keywords

• Freelance employment services
• Cooperative self-employment
• Social insurance administration
• Freelancer invoicing platform
• Collective workspace solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Smart Fee (Cooperative Membership Contribution): Smart retains a 9% fee from the net invoice amount of each project realized through the cooperative. This fee funds cooperative services, platform development, and bad-debt coverage. No fee applies to projects not realized through Smart.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SMartDe eG is a cooperative that employs self-employed professionals as members, providing them with a regular salary, statutory health, pension, unemployment, accident, and professional liability insurance, while taking over invoicing, tax, social-contribution administration, payment reminders, and expense reimbursements. Members retain their own clients and negotiate their own terms; Smart charges a 9% fee on the net invoice amount of each project realized through the cooperative.

Product overview

SMartDe eG operates as a solidarity-economy cooperative offering a unified platform that combines administrative services with community networking for self-employed professionals. The core product is the Smart Portal, an online platform developed in partnership with Smart Austria that handles invoicing, payment processing, expense reimbursement, budget management, and employment administration. The Smart Guide provides comprehensive documentation for all processes. Related offerings include Smart Bildungswerk for tax-free educational services, the WorkCoopHub physical/digital collaborative workspace (launched January 2025), and the Grantspace funding program providing free workspace to social projects. Members also access the Smart Community for networking and knowledge sharing, supported by Mein.Smart file storage via Nextcloud.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smart Portal: Online platform developed with Smart Austria for members to manage orders, expense reimbursements, employment, budget administration, and community networking.
• WorkCoopHub
• Grantspace
• Smart Bildungswerk

Products and services

• Cooperative Employment Membership Core cooperative membership that gives self-employed professionals employee status with the cooperative, providing a regular salary, statutory health, pension, unemployment, accident, and professional liability insurance, plus outsourced invoicing, tax, and social-contribution administration.
• Smart Portal Online platform developed jointly with Smart Austria that lets self-employed members create and manage assignments, submit expense reimbursements, manage employment categories, administer budgets, handle invoicing, and collaborate collectively. Includes real-time budget overview and a built-in Nextcloud-powered file storage layer (Mein.Smart).
• Smart Guide Searchable knowledge base documenting all aspects of membership and cooperative processes, including employment conditions, budgets, order management, expenses, travel costs, and community resources.
• WorkCoopHub Combined physical co-working and digital learning hub at Wilhelmstraße 149, Berlin-Kreuzberg, offering peer-to-peer learning, professional development workshops, and knowledge publication for self-employed members. Includes the Grantspace funding programme providing free workspace to social, ecological, and feminist projects.
• Smart Bildungswerk Wholly-owned educational services subsidiary that enables teachers, coaches, and trainers to invoice educational services tax-free (VAT-exempt) when qualifying conditions are met. Operated by Managing Director Marius Le.

Quantifiable outcome

• Regular salary regardless of client payment status — payment guarantee eliminates freelancer cash-flow risk
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IN THE MOUNTAINS festival (untitled tbilisi / South Caucasus Center for Culture)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 May 2025Queer-feminist arts and culture festival from the South Caucasus region. First project partner in the WorkCoopHub Grantspace programme since May 2025, receiving a free 60 m² studio at Wilhelmstraße 150 for six months. Represents migrant, queer, self-organised communities.
• ElevatHER Consortium (Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2025Erasmus+ funded project 'ElevatHER. Overcoming the Gender Power Gap' with partner organizations from Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, and Poland. SMartDe eG is leading the development of a digital learning platform for adult educators and a daily inspiration app for women. Kick-off meeting held in Prague on 16–17 January 2025.
• Smart Österreich (Austria)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Smart Österreich co-developed the Smart Portal with SMartDe eG, pooling resources and ideas. The cooperation made the portal possible at its scale and scope. Both cooperatives share the Smart Portal platform for member management.
• Smart Belgien (Belgium)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmart Belgien is the founding entity of the Smart initiative, launched in 1998 as 'Société mutuelle pour artistes'. It supported the creation of independent Smart cooperatives in multiple European countries, including SMartDe eG in Germany (2015). SMartDe eG remains part of the European Smart network with over 100,000 combined members.
• All About BerlinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a Smart partner on the About page. Nature of partnership appears to be community/network collaboration.
• Bildungswerk Smart (Smart Bildungswerk gGmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmart Bildungswerk gGmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the cooperative focused on education and training services. Enables VAT-exempt invoicing for educational services when qualifying conditions are met. Managed by Marius Le (Finance/Geschäftsführung Smart Bildungswerk).
• Haus der SelbständigenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a Smart partner on the About page. Community/network partner for the self-employed in Germany.
• Kreative DeutschlandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a Smart partner on the About page. Represents the creative industries sector in Germany.
• Platform Cooperatives GermanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a Smart partner on the About page. Network of platform cooperatives in Germany.
• Social Economy BerlinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a Smart partner on the About page. Berlin-based network promoting the social economy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Personio: German HR/people-operations SaaS platform handling payroll, benefits administration, and HR workflows for SMB employers. Adjacent enabling peer — both Smart and Personio digitize employment administration, but Personio sells to employers directly while Smart operates inside the employment relationship as the cooperative employer.

Broad incumbents

• Upwork: Global freelance marketplace providing client matching, invoicing, payment protection, and basic administrative tooling. Broad incumbent competing for the same freelancer mind-share, though it does not offer statutory employment or social-insurance coverage.
• Fiverr: Global freelance services marketplace offering payment, invoicing, and platform-level seller protections. Broad incumbent competing for German/European freelancers who might otherwise use cooperative-employment models.
• Malt: European freelance marketplace (headquartered in Germany/France) that matches freelancers to clients and provides payment, invoicing, and insurance add-ons. A broader incumbent in freelance enablement that overlaps with Smart's administrative-services wedge but uses a marketplace model rather than cooperative employment.
• Hays: Large international staffing and workforce-solutions firm with German operations placing contractors and freelancers. Broad incumbent in workforce intermediation; comparable on the client-engagement side but uses traditional agency rather than cooperative employment.

Direct peers

• Smart Austria: Austrian sister cooperative in the Smart network. Co-developed the Smart Portal with SMartDe eG and shares member-administration workflows, making it a directly comparable cooperative-employment peer serving Austria.
• Smart Belgium: Founding entity of the European Smart cooperative movement (1998), with ~35,000 members. Operates the same cooperative-employment model for freelancers in Belgium, making it the closest direct peer and sister cooperative within the same network.
• SMart Italy: Italian cooperative in the Smart network offering cooperative-employment, invoicing, and social-insurance administration for Italian freelancers. Directly comparable by model and mission.
• SMart France: French cooperative in the Smart network providing cooperative-employment services to French freelancers under the same multi-stakeholder model. Operates as a direct country-level peer.
• SMart Spain: Spanish cooperative in the Smart network providing the same cooperative-employment framework for self-employed professionals in Spain. Directly comparable peer within the same federation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SMartDe.Genossenschaft
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartde-eg
• Instagraminstagram.com/smartcoopgermany
• Xx.com/smartdecoop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SMartDe eG