Cooperatives are people-centered enterprises owned, controlled and run by their members to realize their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations.

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Cooperatives bring people together in a democratic and equal way. Whether the members are the customers, employees, end-users or residents, cooperatives are democratically managed by the one member - one vote rule. Members share equal voting rights regardless of the amount of capital they put into the enterprise. 

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As businesses driven by values, not just profit, cooperatives share internationally agreed principles and act together to build a better world through cooperation. Putting fairness, equality and social justice at the heart of the enterprise, cooperatives around the world are allowing people to work together to create sustainable enterprises that generate long-term jobs and prosperity.  A worker cooperative is a business that is cooperatively-owned and cooperatively-controlled by its workers.