ILO Cooperative, Social & Solidarity Economy Unit

14/09/2026

What do recent International Labour Organization evaluations tell us about the contribution of to development cooperation outcomes?

A new ILO report brings together findings from 45 final independent evaluations of ILO development cooperation interventions. Among the findings are examples of how cooperatives contributed to more inclusive outcomes, strengthened participation and supported formalization:

🇬🇼 In Guinea-Bissau (founding member of the Group of Friends on the Social and Solidarity Economy ), the establishment of 87 women’s cooperatives strengthened women entrepreneurs’ organizational and legal identity while improving awareness of social and legal rights.

🇲🇬 In Madagascar, cooperatives helped connect fishers and fishmongers with governance structures in the lobster value chain, supporting their participation in value-chain governance.

🇬🇭 🇷🇼 🇰🇪 In Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya, cooperative structures formed part of delivery approaches that also used mobile technology, community health volunteers and digital platforms. Together, these mechanisms reduced transaction costs and supported outreach, contributing to resource efficiency.

The report also highlights ILO-supported efforts to strengthen capacities and policy and institutional support for cooperatives.

In Senegal 🇸🇳 (Chair and founding member of ), a member of the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions was certified as a specialized trainer on cooperatives, supporting the development of nationally anchored training capacity.

In Viet Nam 🇻🇳, policy advocacy contributed to decrees concerning the registration of pre-cooperatives, cooperatives and cooperative unions.

🔎 Read the full report “Decent work results and effectiveness of ILO operations: An ex-post meta-analysis of development cooperation evaluations, 2025” here: https://shorturl.at/TUPXa

09/09/2026

does it take to turn common needs into joint/shared solutions through a cooperative, and for the cooperative to become a sustainable business?

In Hangzhou, China 🇨🇳, from 1 to 4 September 2026, the International Labour Organization participated in the Asia-Pacific Cooperative Youth Summit 5.0, organized by the International Cooperative Alliance - Asia and Pacific.

During the Summit, Rayann Koudaih, Technical Specialist at the ILO's Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit facilitated “Start, Scale, Cooperate: The Start-up Journey," an interactive capacity-building session for young cooperators.

Working in seven groups, the young participants developed cooperative ideas around common needs that can be addressed through pooled/shared solutions, defined their membership, products, services and customers.

They explored the benefits of working together. They were then challenged to consider how their cooperatives could respond to growing demand, mobilize resources and expand while remaining member-owned and democratically controlled.

Rayann also served on the jury for “Coop Pitch Live," where young cooperators presented nine ideas and business plans from across Asia and the Pacific. These included digital platforms for farmers, an architects’ cooperative, platforms connecting cooperatives and facilitating information-sharing, and food-processing cooperatives.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Rayann met with representatives of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives to exchange perspectives and explore potential collaboration with the ILO on cooperative development.

🔗 Learn more about the Summit: https://apyouthsummit.coop/

Photo credit: ICA-AP

05/09/2026

🌾 How can and the wider social and solidarity economy ( ) contribute to organizing and representing rural workers?

This week, more than 50 trade union representatives and labour experts from 20 African countries met in Cairo for a five-day regional knowledge exchange focused on strengthening social dialogue for rural and agricultural plantation workers.

ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy contributed to the discussions with a session exploring how cooperatives and the wider SSE can help rural workers pool resources, strengthen their economic position, improve access to services and social protection and enhance representation and voice. Based on the values and principles of the SSE, cooperatives and other SSE entities can help address economic and social needs that are difficult to meet individually.

But there is no single model. What cooperatives and other SSE entities can contribute depends on rural workers’ employment and economic situations, their needs, priorities and choices. The ILO’s normative framework provides important guidance:

🔹 Convention No. 141 and Recommendation No. 149 on rural workers’ organizations apply to a broad range of rural workers’ organizations, including trade unions and cooperatives. Cooperatives can therefore themselves be forms of rural workers’ organization, while rural workers retain the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing.

🔹 The Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193) recognizes an explicit role for workers’ organizations in supporting cooperative development, while emphasizing cooperative autonomy and democratic member control. It also establishes a crucial safeguard: cooperatives should not be used to evade labour law or disguise employment relationships.

🔹 The 2022 International Labour Conference (ILC) Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy builds on this foundation, recognizing the role of workers’ organizations in promoting decent work in and through the SSE and supporting workers who wish to establish SSE entities.

➡️ The common thread: trade unions, cooperatives and other SSE entities have distinct but complementary roles. Their interaction can strengthen workers’ organization, economic agency, access to services, representation and voice, according to workers’ needs, circumstances, priorities and choices.

🔗 Read more: https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/african-trade-unions-advance-social-dialogue-strategies-rural-and

ℹ️ The knowledge exchange initiative was organized through collaboration between ILO's Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV) and the ILOCairo Office, under the “EU for Haya Karima” project, funded by the European Union. It builds on an online learning programme organized by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO).

04/09/2026

What are the latest developments on cooperatives and the broader social and solidarity economy ( )?

📩 Our August 2026 newsletter brings together recent updates from the International Labour Organization and partners.

🔎 Highlights include:

🔹 The 2026 UN Secretary-General’s report on the SSE, documenting growing legal, policy, institutional and statistical progress around the world, while highlighting areas where implementation remains uneven.

🔹 Capacity-building initiatives and institutionalization of ILO cooperative development tools in countries including Costa Rica 🇨🇷, the Dominican Republic 🇩🇴, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, Uganda 🇺🇬, Comoros 🇰🇲, Timor-Leste 🇹🇱.

🔹 The adoption of the Framework Act on the SSE in the Republic of Korea 🇰🇷, the first comprehensive framework legislation on the SSE in Asia and the Pacific.

🔹 Colombia 🇨🇴, Togo 🇹🇬 and Wallonia (Belgium) joining the Group of Friends on the SSE, bringing the total number of members of the Group to 23.

🔹 An interview on how SSE support networks play an important role in Switzerland 🇨🇭

🔹 New and newly translated ILO resources on cooperative statistics and pathways to formalization

🔹 Upcoming events and learning opportunities, including the Ministerial Dialogue of the Group of Friends on the SSE in New York and the MyCOOP Training of Trainers course

And much more!

🔗 Read the full newsletter: https://adestra.ilo.org/q/1cHdiaAMxM7X/wv

📪 Subscribe now: https://ilo.msgfocus.com/k/Ilo/coop_website_form

03/09/2026

📢 Become a certified 𝗠𝘆.𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗣 trainer!

The ILO’s International Training Centre is offering an online Training of Trainers course on 𝗠𝘆.𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗣 - Managing your agricultural cooperative from 28 September to 11 December 2026.

Designed for experienced cooperative practitioners who train cooperatives, the course prepares participants to deliver 𝗠𝘆.𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗣 — the ILO’s training programme on agricultural cooperative management — through participatory, face-to-face workshops in their own contexts.

✅ 80 hours, online
🌍 English and French
🎓 ILO “𝗠𝘆.𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗣 Trainer” certificate upon completion
💶 EUR 1,275, with a reduced rate for 3+ participants from the same organization
🎯 Partial scholarships available for practitioners in developing countries

➡️ Scholarship applications close 4 September
➡️ General Applications close 18 September

👉 Learn more about the course and apply: https://www.itcilo.org/courses/mycoop-managing-your-agricultural-cooperative-training-trainers

👉 Learn more about 𝗠𝘆.𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗣 training package: https://www.ilo.org/publications/mycoop-managing-your-agricultural-cooperatives

03/09/2026

02/09/2026

La economía social y solidaria está ganando terreno en las políticas públicas, pero ¿cómo convertir ese reconocimiento en una implementación efectiva y a escala que promueva más trabajo decente, inclusión y desarrollo sostenible?

Un nuevo informe del Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas analiza los avances registrados en distintos países y advierte que todavía existen importantes brechas entre la adopción de leyes, políticas y estrategias y su aplicación efectiva.

En América Latina y el Caribe, el informe destaca una mayor coordinación regional y avances concretos en varios países. Entre ellos, nuevos marcos jurídicos e institucionales en Brasil y Costa Rica; medidas para fortalecer las cooperativas y otras entidades de la economía social y solidaria en Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, México y Uruguay.

El informe formula recomendaciones para:
🔹 fortalecer los marcos jurídicos, institucionales y de políticas;
🔹 ampliar el acceso a financiación, mercados y tecnología;
🔹 integrar la economía social y solidaria en las políticas de empleo, protección social, cuidados, vivienda, agricultura y acción climática;
🔹 mejorar las estadísticas para orientar las decisiones públicas.

La OIT, en su calidad de presidencia y secretaría del Equipo de Tareas Interinstitucional de las Naciones Unidas sobre Economía Social y Solidaria, coordinó su elaboración a partir de unas 40 contribuciones de gobiernos, entidades de las Naciones Unidas y otras instituciones.

📘 Consulta el informe completo: https://f.mtr.cool/yu9e4qzm2r

29/08/2026

🇺🇳 The 2026 Report of the UN Secretary-General on the Social and Solidarity Economy ( ) is out!

The present report follows General Assembly resolution 79/213 and reviews its implementation, including action by Member States, cooperation among them, relevant multilateral processes and action by the United Nations development system, financial institutions and development banks. It concludes with recommendations for further action.

The International Labour Organization, which chairs the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) and provides its secretariat, coordinated preparation of the report in collaboration with the members and observers of the Task Force. A call for inputs resulted in around 40 submissions from Member States, United Nations entities and other relevant stakeholders. The information received was supplemented by official national, United Nations, intergovernmental and institutional sources.

The full report is available in six UN official languages here: https://docs.un.org/A/81/288

ILO COOP/SSE harnesses the positive impact of the SSE to advance decent work, social justice & SDGs.

28/08/2026

🇿🇦 How can public policy strengthen the social and solidarity economy ( ) in practice?

At the “Building South Africa’s SSE Ecosystem: From Fragmentation to Systems Transformation” symposium in Johannesburg, the ILO contributed to discussions on moving from policy development to effective implementation.

In her keynote address, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike highlighted the importance of ownership, participation and voice in economic decision-making.

During the high-level dialogue, Waltteri Katajamäki, SSE Specialist at the ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit, highlighted four priorities from ILO and international experience:

🔹 A conducive legal, policy and institutional environment – going beyond legal recognition to enable SSE entities to develop, become sustainable and contribute to decent work.

🔹 Institutional coherence and coordination – across economic, employment and social policy and national, provincial and local levels.

🔹 Social dialogue and participation – engaging governments and employers' and workers' organizations, complemented as appropriate by representative SSE organizations.

🔹 Institutional capacity, data and evidence – to translate policy into practice, monitor progress and adjust measures over time.

🌍 The SSE cannot be strengthened through a single policy instrument. Policies need to work together while safeguarding the values and principles that distinguish the SSE and ensuring decent work and workers' rights within SSE entities themselves.

📍 Johannesburg also holds an important place in the ILO's SSE journey. In 2009, an ILO regional conference in the city called for the social economy to be brought to the International Labour Conference. In 2022, governments, employers and workers adopted the ILO's landmark Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy.

26/08/2026