Westport woman enjoying bringing Barter back

A young Westport woman is blazing a trail in the world of bartering. Carla Rosenkranz, 28-years -old, is the brains behind Barterchain, a new start-up company.

Carla developed a love for bartering while living abroad and finding herself cash-poor. She saw the opportunity to offer free English classes, in exchange for the things she couldn’t afford.

Barterchain's Carla Rosenkranz

“Within a week I was getting yoga, Spanish lessons, massages, and my entire house cleaned. And I went on to barter my way around Spain and Italy for two years, living la dolce vita, until Covid ended that dream.

“As the headlines rolled in about unemployment, business closures, a cashless society, inflation and recessions - I couldn’t stop thinking about barter and how many people it would benefit.”

So she decided to try and scale the bartering she had been doing, by building a viable company. She successfully navigated a number of Irish business programmes, and was then accepted into Techstars - which came with the funding she needed.

Barterchain is now available for download in both iOS and Android stores. They have organically attracted users from 33 different countries - but are always looking for more.

The benefits of barter range from financial to social - and can benefit individuals, businesses, or families. And the team are looking to spread this message far and wide across Ireland - to grow this sustainable barter community.

For more see www.barterchain.io.