Are you thinking to set up a social enterprise? Have you considered the advantages of starting a co-operative?
Do you want to set up a business that benefits the community and belongs to its members?
Is sharing profit and giving people an equal say a priority to you?
Co-operatives are democratic enterprises trading for the benefit of its workers, community and its membership. Their focus is local and their practice is based on the co-operative values of equality, fairness and solidarity.
Why set up a co-operative?
Co-operatives are democratic enterprises and exist to serve their members, whether they are the customers, workers or the local community. Co-operatives are autonomous and independent organisations controlled by the membership.
Co-operatives are governed by the democratic principle of “one member one vote” and all members are co-owners of the co-operative with an equal say in what the co-operatives does. They do not exist to serve outside shareholders.
Profit is shared fairly among the community and the members as co-operatives work for the sustainable development of communities through policies and programs accepted by the members.
Co-operatives are a flexible business model and have been successful in many fields from football to retailing, farming to housing, community owned shops to credit unions, and wind farms and the creative industry. Members are everyday people, like you and me, who got together to find a business solution to a common need in a co-operative way.