Co-ops were on the agenda at the 63rd session of the UN Commission for Social Development (CSocD63), which looked at ways to promote solidarity and social cohesion through the social and solidarity economy.
The session on 13 February saw UN delegates, NGOs and apex organisations explore how to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is lagging behind his targets.
Representatives from Paraguay, Mongolia and France shared best practices and suggested solutions for some of the challenges facing their co-ops.
For example, Paraguay’s vice minister of social policies Carlos Jorge Paris Ferraro, described some of the Ministry of Social Development’s actions to support the sector, such as the creation of a department and strategy for the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and working with the National University of Asunción to incorporate the SSE in curricula. Co-ops account for 12% of Paraguay’s GDP.
The co-op sector is also an important actor in Mongolia, where the government has recently committed US$200m in grants to over 20,400 herders from 4,853 co-ops. The government also transferred US$9.3m to commercial banks to subsidise interest and is helping co-ops access insurance and adopt food safety, animal health and farming standards.
Capacity building is another area of work with 1,500 co-op members from 10 provinces receiving training from the government with support from the university. The government thinks there are other issues to address, such as developing co-operatives based on regional development clusters, enhancing capacity building including by targeting youth, and supporting research initiatives.
Describing his country as “a strong supporter of the co-operative movement”, the permanent representative of Mongolia to the UN, Ankhbayar Nyamdorj, said had initiated two General Assembly Resolutions for the UN International Years of Cooperatives in 2012 and 2025.
“These resolutions provide definitions and scope of activities for the international co-operative and social and solidarity economy movement, and encourage member states to mobilise their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
France is another country where the SSE plays an important role, accounting for 10% of the GDP, 14% of private employment, and involving 22 million volunteers.
“There’s a need to identify the strength of SSE to improve our public policies and the practices of traditional businesses so that we can invent solutions daily, and respond to major transitions,” said Maxime Baduel, the ministerial delegate in charge of SSE.
Participatory worker co-ops in France are more resilient than other types of businesses, she added, with 80% still operating after the first five years since being set up, as opposed to 60% of conventional businesses. He added that co-operative societies with a collective interest are better able to identify local needs by bringing together local authorities, businesses, users and employers.
“Developing our SSE is a strong lever to meet the SDGs and it should be encouraged by this committee,” he said. “This development needs to involve a legislative regulatory framework to give a structure to this ecosystem and to ensure that there are financial and capacity-building instruments in place. It also involves promoting these structures with financial institutions, and the economic world … building public policies, and ensuring that they are in line with SSEs.”
By partnering with governments, the UN agencies and other key stakeholders, co-ops can drive solutions, implement social policies, reduce inequalities and strengthen economic democracy, said Joseph Njuguna, head of policy at the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).
The ICA is looking forward to strengthening its partnership with key stakeholders to scale up impact, he added – particularly this year, through national committees for implementing International Year of Cooperatives initiatives.
ICA youth representative Ana Aguirre had a similar message for UN delegates, making a case for co-ops as “resilient, democratic, community-driven, participatory and wealth generators”. Co-ops should invest in youth, she added, as this “not only pays off but comes back multiplied”.
Aguirre referred to the UN secretary general’s 2023 Report on Cooperatives in Social Development, which identified five common features for co-op-friendly ecosystems: legislation, supportive policies and institutions, education and capacity building, access to funding and finance, and networks and partnerships.
She urged member states to draft and implement the strategies that allow the foster the creation of more co-operative friendly ecosystems.
Representatives from Chile, Burkina Faso, Burundi and the EU took the floor to ask questions and make interventions. NGOs such as the Inclusivity Project and Children and Youth International highlighted the role of co-operatives in strengthening communities and providing opportunities for young people.
So what do co-ops need to thrive? Speakers concluded by reiterating the importance of recognising the SSE – and supporting it by creating databases and statistics, involving young people in SSE networks, providing access to finance for the sector, identifying adequate fiscal standards for the SSE, and involving the civil society in creating public policies.
