German Cooperative Organizations
Case Study
Ilcheong Yi, Fulvia Farinelli,band Raymond Landveld:
- GERMAN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
"Germany has a long history stretching back to the early 1800s when cooperative organizations were created to serve the needs of both their local residents and address a societal ill.
From banking to agriculture, procurement, and retail, below is a summary of the five main pillars of the German cooperative system:
Cooperative banks – Almost 1,200 local people’s banks and Raiffeisen banks (Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken) form the basis of the German cooperative financial network (Finanzverbund) with over 30 million customers across Germany. The banks are locally organized, maintain strong links with their regions and view themselves as a partner of local SMEs. Rural cooperatives – Around 3,000 cooperative enterprises operate in the German agriculture and food industry. They provide farmers with production equipment and purchase their agricultural products for processing including 70 per cent of the milk produced in Germany.
Buying and marketing cooperatives – There are more than 1,000 small-scale buying and marketing cooperatives that cater largely to retailers, craftsmen and freelancers. Affiliated with SMEs, these cooperatives provide an efficient means of cooperation in purchase and marketing activities so that SMEs can compete with large conglomerates.
Consumer cooperatives – Consumer cooperatives offer retail services in underserved villages and districts across Germany and offer specialized and ethically sourced products to the public.
Housing cooperatives – German housing cooperatives represent approximately 10 per cent of the national housing stock and offer secure and affordable housing to over five million people, with an annual investment volume of 3.4 billion euros. Cooperative housing is based on the concept of sustainability and cross-generational ownership and offers numerous real-estate related services such as assisted housing for elder and handicapped occupants, neighbourhood meetings, shopping assistance, member festivities, and special housing offers for young members and families."
(https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/social_and_solidarity_economy_29_march_2023.pdf)