Brazil

The DGRV project in Brazil covers three different topics: cooperatives in rural areas, renewable energy and financial cooperatives. In order to reduce regional inequalities, the project operates mainly in northern and north-eastern Brazil.

Cooperatives in rural areas are strengthened through the program AceleraCoop, which operates in the areas of management, governance, strategic planning and more, promoting the establishment of networks, partnerships and alliances for these cooperatives. This program, developed by the partner SESCOOP Nacional with help of DGRV, aims to improve the structure and services offered by these cooperatives in order to generate employment and sustainable income for its members.

Regarding the production of renewable energy by cooperatives, a great potential can be identified for the whole sector, including new cooperatives for the production and/or consumption of renewable energies but also cooperatives operating in all other sectors. The possibility of reducing energy costs and contributing to the protection of the environment through own energy production and a higher energy efficiency has only recently raised the attention of the Brazilian population and still calls for a higher degree of recognition. Dialogue and exchange between the group of cooperatives involved in renewable energy production and consumption will also be stimulated.

Credit cooperatives in Brazil are an excellent instrument to foster financial inclusion and to encourage competition in a highly concentrated market. On the one hand, the project, in cooperation with the Organização das Cooperativas Brasileiras (OCB) and the cooperative financial sector contributes to increase the presence of credit cooperatives in northern and north-eastern Brazil. On the other hand, it fosters an appropriate regulation as well as an efficient and prudent supervision in order to offer sustainable, secure and competitive financial services. In this way, the project, in cooperation with the Central Bank stimulates the exchange of experiences and good practices at a national and international level, especially with the cooperative financial sector in Germany. Furthermore, it promotes a better understanding of the impact of financial cooperatives on the attended communities.