Global research on the collaborative economy GRACE16 represents a big step forward for cooperative banks. To say it is the general secretary of Assopopolari Giuseppe De Lucia Lumeno: "We can only feel very satisfied for having been an active part of such an important and innovative research that looks to the future and wants to lay the foundations for a new impetus to the growth of cooperation on a global level, exploring new models and forms of collaboration between banks and other cooperative companies and cooperative banks through digital platforms capable of developing a network that is up to the needs of the market and at the service of its stakeholders".
In search, promoted by International Confederation of Popular Banks (CIBP), Assopopolari actively participated as a member of the Confederation. The study is the result of a questionnaire that saw the participation of 248 participants from 110 institutions and 47 countries around the world. The research findings were then discussed by 44 experts and academics representing 10 cooperative sectors and 34 institutions from 22 countries during the XVIII Conference of International Studies on Cooperatives in Lucerne and the International Summit of Cooperatives in Quebec City.
The report shows that 86% of members and 89% of customers are convinced that thecollaborative economy is the next stage in the evolution of the cooperative movement and that this approach fits well with the cooperative formula. Furthermore, 87% of the Cooperatives that participated in the survey believe that the three great opportunities deriving from a development of the collaborative economy are to create greater value for members and customers, to develop new markets and to achieve better efficiency and profitability.
“Banking Cooperation – concluded De Lucia Lumeno – still demonstrates a particular ability to look to the future with impetus, passion and hope, promoting better use of the resources made available by functional technology to promote sustainable growth that has always been at the heart of the model of Banking Cooperation and Cooperative Banks in our country and in the world".
