BEDC To Host Cooperatives Workshops
The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC] will be hosting an Introduction to Business Cooperatives Workshop – Building Block 1, on December 1st and 2nd in the BEDC training room.
A spokesperson said, “Facilitated by Dr Rebecca Savoie, an international coop ecosystem and business developer, this dynamic workshop will provide attendees foundational coop skills and business planning knowledge. Specifically, the workshop will benefit champions of future cooperative [coop] enterprises, persons interested in becoming coop members, ecosystem stakeholders, and financiers of coops.
“Building Block 1 is the first in a series of coop development workshops that will build on each other over the next year. Those that attend all three workshops will receive additional support to beta test their coop businesses.
“Topics in the Building Block 1 workshop include: the purpose of a coop, value to the community, financial support to start your coop, and the role technology plays in creating marketplace efficiencies.
“A cooperative or coop’s members can be employees, producers, or consumers. Members unite voluntarily to meet their economic, social, and cultural needs through a jointly owned and democratically controlled for profit enterprise. Except for the Bermuda Credit Union, Coops are still relatively new to Bermuda. However, they, have a long history within the United States and Europe.
“One in three Americans are coop members holding 350 million coop memberships worldwide. U.S. coops generate 2 million jobs annually, contribute $652 billion in annual sales, and possess $3 trillion in assets. Ninety-two million Americans turn to 7,500 credit unions – cooperatives – for their financial services.
“Coops operate on a human-centred business model founded on the cooperative values of self-help and solidarity, the ethical values of social responsibility and concern for the community. Cooperatives can reduce inequality, create shared prosperity, and help Bermuda build back better from Covid-19.”
Jonathan Starling, BEDC’s ECD Officer, stated, “We continue to engage persons interested in coops and to develop the policy framework to assist new coops in flourishing. As part of the post-Covid recovery for Bermuda, coop training and education programmes have restarted to aid in developing a vibrant coop ecosystem in Bermuda. We are looking forward to hosting Dr. Savoie and supporting workshop attendees with growing their coop businesses.”
The spokesperson said, “There will be two workshops held on Thursday, December 1st: from 12noon to 2 pm and again from 6 pm to 8 pm. The last workshop will be held on Friday, Dec 2nd from 12noon to 2 pm. For convenience, the same learning material will be covered within each of the three sessions, and refreshments will be served.
“Visit www.bedc.bm to learn about coops and register for the upcoming workshops.”
