A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

International Co-operative Alliance, ICA, 1995

By their own efforts, but joined together!

Co-operatives are based on the following values:

Self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, solidarity, honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice:

Voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information, co-operation among co-operatives and concern for community.

Basic co-operative values were implemented in the Co-operatives Act. A co-operative can find original success factors and competitive edge by adhering to the Co-operatives Act and by adopting the basic, co-operative idea.

”Co-operative is an organisation whose membership and share capital have not been determined in advance. The purpose of a co-operative shall be to promote the economic

and business interests of its members by way of the pursuit of economic activity where the

members make use of the services provided by the co-operative or services the co-operative arranges through a subsidiary or otherwise.

However, it may be stipulated in the rules of the co-operative that its main purpose is the common achievement of an ideological goal.”

A co-operative is a business enterprise with economic interests that is owned and democratically controlled by its members. The starting point is equal cooperation of the members.

The purpose is to promote the members’ economy by using the services provided by the co-operative. Profit-making is not the main goal.

Power of decision is exercised by the principle: one member, one vote even if the members have different number of shares. The power of decision can, however, be differentiated by rules.

Membership and share capital have not been determined in advance.

A co-operative shall, however, have no less than three members.

There is no requirement for minimum share capital in a co-operative (in contrast to 8,000€ in a limited company).

To be continued

A co-operative can admit new members, membership is voluntary and one can resign from a co-operative. One can also be expelled from it.

The surplus generated is normally allocated in proportion to the members’ transactions with the co-operative.

The members are not personally liable for the obligations of the co-operative, unless extraordinary payments are stipulated in the rules.

All co-operatives have their own rules written with the particular co-operative in mind.

The Act applies to all co-operatives.

Consumer co-operative (for instance a retail co-operative) where a customer of the co-operative is also a member.

Service co-operative (for instance a co-operative bank or an indemnity insurance company), where those using the services of the co-operative are members.

Producer co-operative (for instance a co-operative creamery), where the producers of raw material are members .

Consumer and producer co-operatives have their roots in the early 20th century when the Finnish co-operative movement was born.

New generation co-operatives are ”new wave” co-operatives that have been set up in different lines of business since the late 1980s.