The cycle of meetings promoted by the Alliance of Italian Cooperatives as part of the work program of the Italian semester of Presidency of the European Union. Five policy events will take place throughout the country from September to December. The aim of this series of meetings is to highlight the added value that the cooperative business model can offer to the processes of economic growth and sustainable development in developing countries.
The World Cooperative Monitor, edited by Euricse and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), shows that the top 300 cooperative enterprises contribute to global growth with a total turnover of over 2 trillion dollars a year. According to Censis data, in Italy, the contribution generated by cooperatives to the national GDP is 8%.
“Development cooperation is changing rapidly – reads the note from the cooperatives -. The European Commission launched a communication on the role of the private sector in international development processes and in August the reform of law 49/87 which governs Italian development cooperation was approved. The core of this new paradigm is partnership. Even companies, through new business opportunities, can make their own contribution to the development of the productive economic fabric of the partner countries".
According to the organizers of the event, “there is a need for a private sector that invests and contributes to building a sustainable economy even in the poorest countries. We need a private sector that knows how to dialogue, collaborate and, with its own technical-sectoral expertise, complement the experience and action of NGOs and civil society organizations that already know the context of local societies. Many Organizations for international cooperation look primarily to the business model developed by the cooperative movement, as it combines principles of solidarity and entrepreneurial efficiency”.
