Formerly known as the Digital Kiosks Network, we are now the Access Economy Alliance.
Our new name reflects our widening ambition: to deliver a vibrant ‘access economy’ for everyday goods that offers an affordable, convenient and sustainable alternative to buying everyday items and throwing them away.
The access economy is a growing ecosystem of solutions that empowers people to rent or borrow items they would otherwise have to buy.
In recent years, a new wave of peer-to-peer apps, sharing stations, libraries of things, and renting services by local retailers, has begun to make this alternative to an all-consuming economy possible.
The Access Economy Alliance hosts Europe’s movement for advancing the access economy in all its forms in the coming decade.
Our community of practitioners from public sector, research and private companies are united in their aim to create a new paradigm for everyday goods – one based on accessing robust, high quality goods rather than buying, cluttering and throwing away.
“The Access Economy Alliances brings together Europe’s expertise, resources and committed organisations to advance the practical implementation of the access economy. With our members, we’re supporting more than 30 access economy services across Europe, and want to share our outcomes with cities, housing providers and access providers” said Sami Angsthelm, co-founder of the Alliance.
The Alliance’s members include access economy providers Les Biens en Commun, Library of Things, Equip, BoxUp, and Ihopa, the public authorities of Hamburg, Sint-Niklaas, Amersfoort, Saint Quentin and Bergen, and is coordinated by European innovation consultancy Bax.
“We invite all cities, startups, retailers and manufacturers with an ambition to increase social cohesion, liveability and sustainability in their district to join the Alliance. With Europe’s leading service providers and access-focussed municipalities amongst our members, we aim to create a community of implementation delivering the access economy all across Europe” said Johanna Reiland, co-founder of the Alliance.
Why the Access Economy?
Many of the goods we buy spend most of their lifetime unused. For these occasionally used goods, buying and storing these goods can seem wasteful. But in a linear economy built around consumption, buying is usually our only way to use these items.
The access economy is the circular alternative. Through a range of delivery models – including sharing stations, peer to peer apps and libraries of things – the access economy allows people to rent, borrow or share goods without having to buy them.
Like a library for books, access economy services give people a way to enjoy high-quality items without having to buy them, store them and eventually throw them away.
This model is:
- Convenient – It is a model of consumption where citizens can easily find services to access consumer goods, whether it is through peer-to-peer schemes, lending libraries, within retail and rental shops or sharing stations.
- Affordable – It allows people of all income levels to access high quality goods when they’re needed. Instead of buying cheap tools and kitchen appliances that are likely to break, access services allow people to benefit from high-end equipment for occasional use they could never otherwise afford.
- Sustainable – Access services means a building with 50 flats needs only one or two drills, projectors or steam cleaners – as opposed to 50. Multiple across a city, and this has a huge impact on the circular economy, reducing waste before it’s even created. And the design of service for use by multiple people encourages manufacturers to design robust equipment that can survive many uses.
Source: BoxUp
In the past, the Digital Kiosks Network focussed on sharing stations as a means of accessing goods. But sharing stations are just one part of the access economy puzzle. A thriving ecosystem of startups and innovative cities are exploring many models, including:
- Peer-to-peer apps
- Sharing stations
- Libraries of things
- Rental services hosted by local retailers
- And new models yet to be developed
These will all be supported by the Access Economy Alliance.
Our Vision for the Access Economy Alliance
We believe that the access economy network of the future will include a wide variety of services and stakeholders, and for that, we need a wide dialogue on what the access economy can be.
This is our mission – to create a community of access economy champions across Europe to learn, pilot and fund new developments in the access economy. The denser and more visible the Access Network is in cities, the more sustainable choices the citizens will make when it comes to answering their needs for items.
Our end goal is to enable cities and regions to create the favorable conditions for them to have more access points and to increase the uptake of these access services.
What will the Alliance do?
Training
Trained 15 municipalities on the access economy through the Digital Kiosks Programme.
Pilots
We are supporting 30+ experiments in 2025 of different access services across Europe.
Funding Support
Enabling members to access funding for access economy projects. To date, we’ve secured €5m for members to develop access economy solutions, and are working with ChangeX to develop a fund for the access economy.
Strategy and Insights
Working with organizations interested in access to analyse the socio-economic and environmental impact of access economy services.
Peer Learning
Offering opportunities for providers and cities to learn best practices from their peers in small-group workshops throughout the year.
Networking
Creating a meeting point for providers of access services and organisations looking to develop access as part of their circularity and sustainability strategies.
Who can be part of the Alliance?
The Access Economy Alliance aims to increase the availability of access points in cities and its uptake by citizens, and encourages the membership of all stakeholders who make this happen. This includes:
- Access economy startups (incl. sharing stations): supporting startups to access funding and connect with clients, share knowledge on the market.
- Retailers: supporting them in testing and scaling new access services
- Manufacturers: supporting them in adapting their business models to the access economy.
- Cities and regions: supporting them to take an orchestration role to accelerate the access economy locally.
- Policy maker: keeping track of the development of the access economy and steering it with adequate policies.
- Universities: supporting research on the socio-economic and environmental impacts generated by the access economy and developing supporting tools.
Our Vision for the Access Economy Alliance
We believe that the access economy network of the future will include a wide variety of services and stakeholders, and for that, we need a wide dialogue on what the access economy can be.
This is our mission – to create a community of access economy champions across Europe to learn, pilot and fund new developments in the access economy. The denser and more visible the Access Network is in cities, the more sustainable choices the citizens will make when it comes to answering their needs for items.
Our end goal is to enable cities and regions to create the favorable conditions for them to have more access points and to increase the uptake of these access services.
Learn more about the Access Economy Alliance
