Co-operatives offer a particularly relevant economic pathway in a world marked by crises: in addition to serving as incubators of democracy, they enable collective entrepreneurship, risk-sharing, stronger market positioning, and local anchoring. Guided by principles, they facilitate training, quality assurance, traceability, and therefore the sustainable creation of value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCo-operatives matter because not everyone has the same ability to create or sustain a business on their own.\u201d
\u2014 Jean-Philippe Marcoux, Executive Director of Socodevi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across Socodevi\u2019s project portfolio, supported enterprises record on average an 88% improvement in operational performance and quadruple both their gross margin and turnover. <\/strong>They become inclusive enterprises adapted to their realities, as well as solid business partners for both the private and public sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n For several years, Socodevi has also acted as a strategic support actor for public authorities and national institutions, helping to strengthen the rules that structure co-operatives and mutuals and govern the co-operative movement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n This patient work is carried out hand in hand with our network of experts, including the Institute for Research and Education for Co-operatives and Mutuals at the Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke (IRECUS) and the Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois de la coop\u00e9ration et de la mutualit\u00e9 (CQCM). Our role is to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n This involves analyzing existing regulations, developing concrete proposals, delivering training, and sometimes even hosting foreign delegations wishing to observe the Qu\u00e9bec model from the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our experience in Mozambique since 2020, as well as in other countries, shows that when ministries engage proactively with co-operative systems\u2014and see how policy, finance, and governance work together in practice\u2014the quality of reforms improves. In January 2026, Socodevi conveyed this message to Ukrainian authorities at The Power of Co-operatives<\/em> conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, as part of the new Canada-funded HONOR project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that well-structured co-operatives become credible partners for authorities responsible for accelerating local development, as illustrated by Mapath\u00e9 Bousso, Technical Director of the municipality of Thi\u00e8s Nord in Senegal, in this video<\/a> on the co-operative housing project (at 10:38).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our projects around the world also allow us to generate impact in Canada. In fall 2025, Socodevi was invited to testify before Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s Committee on Public Finance<\/a> as part of the modernization of the Co-operatives Act. Our recommendations were directly inspired by initiatives observed elsewhere: the concept of the community-interest co-operative, the inclusion of family members in producer co-operatives, and the establishment of an annual co-operative report, such as the one we supported in Honduras.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSupporting Ecosystems, Not Just Enterprises<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What We Share\u2026 and What We Bring Back<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n