A cooperative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.” (ICA, Statement on the Cooperative Identity).

As people-centered businesses owned and run by their members, cooperatives share characteristics of both enterprises and associations.

They operate following internationally agreed values and principles, allowing people to work together and develop sustainable businesses, while the economic and social benefits generated through their activity stay in the community.

Cooperatives play a critical role in local inclusive and sustainable development.

At least 12% of people on earth is a cooperator of any of the 3 million cooperatives on earth. Cooperatives provide jobs or work opportunities to 10% of the employed population. (World Cooperative Monitor)

They are a powerful tool for women empowerment, by:

	Creating jobs and increasing income, thus minimizing informal employment* and unpaid work, so common among women in rural areas
	Improving livelihoods through the provision of basic services and decent work conditions.
	Being open and democratic organizations, they promote gender equality, allowing women to boost their leadership and management experiences.

Some countries have specific women empowerment policies such as gender quotas for cooperatives.

* See DIOMCOOP, a Spanish multi-stakeholder cooperative set up Barcelona, 2017,  to support vulnerable migrant street sellers, which now provides a variety of services and even has its own fashion brand – Diambaar.

Dual nature:

• a cooperative is both an association of members and an enterprise
• it serves the interests of the members while following an economic purpose and being managed in a business-like manner
• the members (employees, producers or customers), not shareholders, make decisions democratically

Based on values and principles:

• Cooperatives are based on values: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity Members are guided by the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others
• There are 7 internationally recognized principles, acting as guidelines through which cooperatives put their values into practice. (International Cooperative Alliance)

Cooperative principles

		Voluntary and Open Membership Cooperatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
Concern for Community Cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.		Democratic Member Control Cooperatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions.
Cooperation among Cooperatives Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures		Member Economic Participation Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative.
Education, Training, and Information Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives.		Autonomy and Independence Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members.

Source: ICA, Statement on the Cooperative Identity

National level

• The majority of European countries have a cooperative law: either a general framework, applying to all economic sectors, or, in some cases, each sector has its own cooperative legislation. Most often, cooperative legislation derives from national civil law/commercial law.
• Although differences are present, national cooperative laws share the values and principles specific to cooperative enterprises.

Cooperatives are very diverse: from small enterprises, owned by their members (a minimum number of members can be imposed by national regulations) to large banks owned by their clients. The most (but not only) common criteria to help classifying cooperatives:

Although they serve the interests of their members and those of the community, cooperatives are businesses, aiming to produce profit (which is shared among the members or reinvested).

As any enterprise, the activities of a cooperation need to be directed and controlled.

Managing a cooperation brings several specific challenges compared to other types of enterprises.

• Cooperatives apply democratic decision making (members possessing final-decision rights)
• Cooperatives delegate decision-making to a Board of Directors and sometimes, professional managers are involved. Accountability of delegated decision-making persons is one of the key governance issues.
• In smaller cooperatives, the members are often responsible for staff-tasks, requiring specific expertise and skills.
• Many cooperatives are multi-purpose, providing different services and serving different interests of their members, making the governance of such a cooperative even more challenging.
• Other challenges: inclusion (including gender imbalances), skills, member commitment and keeping the autonomy (as cooperatives often receive substantial support from outside stakeholders).

The Wazo cooperative was established in Spain to solve issues faced by rural communities there as well as to provide these areas with economic and employment prospects.

The cooperative is co-founded and presided by Marta Lozano Molano, a successful musician and composer who decided to return to her homeland in Extremadura (Spain) to support her community and focus on composing social music.

Since 2015, Wazo Coop has promoted local sustainable development in rural and sparsely populated regions using the creative economy as a platform. In order to link distant cooperatives and stakeholders, it has facilitated access to innovation and digitization. It has also facilitated the development of jobs, particularly for young people and residents of rural areas.

One such instance is the EU Smart Composer initiative, which uses a methodology to   help VET music instructors support students who write new music and to provide them   the opportunity to learn new skills in branding, business, and digital marketing.

Early in 2018, the AgroAlim Predesti Cooperative was founded as a component of the WorldVision and Sodexo Romania-led "Empowering Women in Need" project.

The goal of this initiative was to help rural women living in tough circumstances, such as moms raising their children alone, those who have never had a job, or were currently unemployed, day laborers.

In order to process and preserve the fruit and vegetables cultivated locally, the cooperative's headquarters were equipped with specific production machinery. Items like sauce jars, pepper sauces, pickles in vinegar and brine, and many more traditional products are made here.

Preserves and canned vegetables are produced only for the already existing customer network - the shelf life is not very long because they are made using only traditional recipes and ingredients, without additives.

Women's Agrotourist Cooperative of Zagora was founded in 1993 by 50 women who wanted to use their skills and offer tourists high quality traditional products and service.

Now it operates its own shop and cafeteria in the main square of Agios Giorgios village, where tourists can taste various desserts, jams, traditional pastry delights, homemade liqueurs, and appetizers that go with the local tsipouro.

Recently, the cooperative set up a laboratory, allowing for larger production, but without sacrificing the traditional spirit – every product is natural, created only with local fruits and herbs, free of additives.

It also provides catering services and organizes larger events, banquets and meals upon request, and operates a network of traditional guest houses for tourists.