Chile


Our activities in Chile are part of the CoopSur Project.

Within the CoopSur project, we work with cooperatives and other forms of member-based cooperation in the agricultural sector, the financial sector, and the renewable energy sector. The project’s objectives pursue a multilevel approach in all sectors, addressing sustainability, protection, competitiveness, stability and continuous training.

The CoopSur project cooperates with more than 20 cooperative partners in 3 countries (Paraguay, Peru and Chile) to achieve its objectives.

This project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is currently running until the end of 2024.

About the project


There are 3,571 registered cooperatives in Chile, of which 1,394 are considered active. In total, Chilean cooperatives have 2 million members, which represents 10% of the total population. The savings and credit sector is the most important, followed by the energy sector with 20 cooperatives dedicated to electricity distribution.

Chile plans to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2040. Currently, Chile is one of the few countries in Latin America where the energy generated can be fed into the public grid. Under certain conditions, jointly operated renewable energy generation plants can be installed to feed surplus energy into the public grid (Law 21.118) and thus obtain a discount on one’s electricity bill. For this reason, the generation of electricity from renewable sources is attracting growing interest among the population.

The objective of the Coopsur project in Chile is aimed at the potential of the cooperative sector in the generation of renewable energy with citizen participation and energy efficiency.

The project’s objective is based on the following main areas of the energy sector:

  • Encouraging civic engagement and raising awareness of ways to combat climate change
  • Promoting the exchange and knowledge of existing initiatives

At meso level, the focus is on raising awareness and creating a space for the exchange of knowledge and experiences on citizen-led renewable energy generation, the target group being a working group to be formed under the Coopsur project, as well as the staff of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Labor.

Target groups at micro level are initiatives promoting renewable energies with citizen participation, whether cooperatives or other forms of member-based cooperation, as well as individuals interested in initiating such a project.

Sustainable Development Goals


Our project in Chile contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals, especially:





 

Activities


DGRV selects its activities according to the main areas and according to the collaboration with cooperative confederations, central institutions of the cooperative sector, federations, networks of cooperatives and individual cooperatives at national and decentralized levels, supervisory authorities, ministries, and others.

These include the following:

  • Digital education and training through workshops and seminars
  • Regional and international internships
  • Formation of working groups

Development of studies, methodologies, guides, and reference manuals

Partners


Cooperativa de Trabajo Red Genera

Red Genera is dedicated to the development of photovoltaic, solar thermal and energy efficiency projects at residential, commercial, and industrial levels.

DGRV in Chile collaborates with Red Genera to carry out renewable energy generation pilots with citizen participation. This process is accompanied by activities such as training, pre-feasibility studies and a working group for those interested in the joint generation of renewable energies.

Office


The activities of the project in Chile are supervised by the DGRV office in Paraguay:

Dr. Cirilo Cáceres Zorrilla N° 1050
entre San Juan XXIII y Narciso Colmán
Asunción, Paraguay

coopsur@dgrv.coop

Twitter DGRV CoopSur
Facebook DGRV CoopSur
LinkedIn Team Latinamerica

Other projects in the region


Latin America

Colombia

The German Confederation of Cooperatives (DGRV) and its Colombian counterpart CFA Foundation have developed the “Apoyamos – Buen Vivir Rural, We Support, Good Rural Living” Project. This initiative seeks to foster a renewed appreciation for rural life, encouraging communities and small-scale farmers to take the lead in their own development and prosperity. The project’s strategy […]

More
Latin America

Costa Rica

DGRV project activities in Costa Rica mainly focus on two key areas: We support our partner INFOCOOP, the public cooperative institute, in fostering its supervisory function providing three different softwares for credit union financial indicators, for assessing the internal control systems and performing financial audits of all types of cooperatives. INFOCOOP is also advised by […]

More
Latin America

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, DGRV works together with AIRAC (Asociación de Instituciones Rurales de Ahorro y Crédito), an association of rural savings and credit cooperatives. At meso level, DGRV supports the staff of AIRAC’s member cooperatives with training (credit risk, good governance, etc.). At micro level, DGRV provides AIRAC with the software “Social Balance” and […]

More