Mondragon Unibertsitatea creates a program to boost platform cooperatives in different regions and foster collaboration among them
Mondragon Unibertsitatea creates a program to boost platform cooperatives in different regions and foster collaboration among them
Mondragon Unibertsitatea creates a program to boost platform cooperatives in different regions and foster collaboration among them
One of the main goals of this initiative is to encourage platform cooperatives to collaborate with each other and to replicate their model in other communities when it proves to be successful
Platform cooperatives are gaining more presence and support in our society. They are a new and fairer alternative to conventional digital platforms, created with the aim of transforming the digital economy from a more social and balanced perspective. These applications do not belong to a small group of investors, but to the very people who use them and work within them. In this model, everyone takes part in decision-making and shares the benefits.
Mondragon Unibertsitatea, together with eight partners (Tazebaez and MUE-MTA from the Basque Country, Barcelona Activa, Tandem go and Fasolà from Barcelona, the Andalusian School of Social Economy from Andalusia, and Lapromotora from Valencia), has created a platform called We-Coop. Its objective is to promote the creation of these platform cooperatives in order to respond to the specific needs of each territory. Furthermore, We-Coop has a second goal: to promote collaboration between these regional platforms whenever possible, and to enable them to replicate their model in other communities when it is successful.
We-Coop Launch Event
On September 24, the official presentation of the We-Coop initiative took place at the Oñati campus of Mondragon Unibertsitatea. The event began at 10:00 a.m. with an institutional presentation of the initiative and the organizing consortium, followed by a discussion on what platform cooperatives are and how they can transform the digital economy from a social perspective.
This was followed by a keynote lecture on the state of the art, trends, and future opportunities, leading to the official launch of We-Coop. A round table then took place, presenting experiences and success stories of platform cooperatives. The program concluded with a networking aperitif.
Next Generation EU Funds
We-Coop is a project funded by the Next Generation EU Funds under the Comprehensive Plan to Promote the Social Economy for the Creation of an Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Fabric of the Spanish Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan for the Social Economy and Care (2022–2023 and 2024–2025 calls).
Previous initiatives, such as the Platform Coop Venture Builder led by Mondragon Unibertsitatea, have paved the way for the creation of digital platform cooperatives in various autonomous communities.