Hoplr - pronounce «hopler» - was founded by Jennick Scheerlinck and Jonas Heirwegh, back in 2014. An initiative that started from a common vision and conviction. In contrast to online globalization, Hoplr tells a digital, but local story. Hoplr connects people with each other and their environment.
Hoplr shifts the focus from the individual to the local community. We want to use the power of the collective to anticipate the societal challenges of tomorrow such as aging, neighbourhood care, inclusion and citizen participation. Only in this way can we evolve towards more livable and sustainable local ecosystems.
We build local communities. That is our core mission. We are convinced that only united as communities, we will be able to meet the societal challenges that await us. Via Hoplr you get easy access to the social capital in your neighbourhood such as material, knowledge, time and infrastructure.
Hoplr offers neighbours a free and private social network (hoplr.com, iOS, Android) and focuses on social interaction between residents and their engagement within the neighbourhood. Hoplr neighbourhoods are demarcated, require address verification and are therefore closed. Only residents have access to the neighbourhood and can make contributions. Our ambition doesn't stop with virtual interactions, however. Hoplr aims to connect online in order to encourage offline meetings.
Neighbourhoods are under an ongoing influence of public services such as their local governments, utilities, project groups and organisations. Through Hoplr, these parties can inform residents, establish participation and set up neighbourhood initiatives quickly and effortlessly. Hoplr issues yearly licenses to non-commercial parties only.
Hoplr has a distinctively European ambition. Internet giants from San Francisco such as Facebook and Twitter now know more about European citizens than Europe does itself. Not only do we protect the data of European citizens, we aim to keep it in Europe.
In 2014, Jennick Scheerlinck and Jonas Heirwegh founded Hoplr BVBA as a social enterprise to connect citizens with each other and their environment. After the first capital round with Quaeroq CVBA in 2016 - the long-term investment fund of Matexi Group - they changed Hoplr into an NV. After a second capital injection in 2018, Belfius took a minority interest as well.
We'll always opt for strategic partners with a long-term vision. It's important to us to be able to autonomously set out the direction of Hoplr.
We consciously chose to set up a private company. This allows us to attract talent and investors in function of our product development more easily. Hoplr is and will always remain a tech company.
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