The economy today

The social economy in the spotlight at the Davos Forum

Audio 04:13

A worker cleans a panel of the World Economic Forum (WEF) logo inside the convention center ahead of the WEF's annual meeting in Davos, May 22, 2022. AFP - FABRICE COFFRINI

By: Dominique Baillard Follow

4 mins

The Davos Forum in Switzerland, where the big bosses of the capitalist world meet at the moment, also promotes the social economy.

With a session devoted yesterday, Monday, May 23, to solutions to encourage this little-known component of the market economy.  

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An unknown component but not so marginal as one might think.

With its values ​​opposed to those of capitalism, the social and solidarity economy is nevertheless well established and prosperous.

It generates 7% of global GDP.

In France it is twice as much, 14% of GDP, and one in 10 private jobs.

Its objective: to satisfy a human need, by favoring the collective interest.

Profit is not its end and money just a means.

Rather than competition, it practices cooperation.

These virtues have a real public, they seduce employees in search of meaning, they make the beneficiaries happy.

These atypical companies are overrepresented in the social sector, in local sports associations;

their model is also applied by cooperative banks or mutual insurers.

The social and solidarity economy is part of our daily lives and we remember it when crises occur.  

Social economy actors have played a key role during the pandemic 

It is often associations that have made it possible to make up for the multiple shortcomings, by manufacturing masks for example or by making staff available as soon as the coronavirus appears.

During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, social economy enterprises were major job providers, while factory closures swelled the ranks of the unemployed.

Social enterprises are also vectors of inclusion in less favored countries.

In sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that 28 to 41 million jobs were created in 2020 thanks to their impetus.

At a time when inflation is picking up again, throwing hundreds of millions of people into extreme poverty, the sector will once again play a role as a shock absorber.

Provided you have more favorable conditions to carry out your missions. 

What are the solutions advocated by the Davos Forum?

In fact, the forum relays the old demands of social economy activists.

First of all, having legal structures adapted to their activity, this is far from being the case everywhere in the world.

Ghana has implemented a specific policy to develop this sector.

South Africa is working on the subject in collaboration with the International Labor Organization.

These companies also want better access to public markets;

they are often excluded because they are not the best bidder in terms of price, even though the content of their offer is in line with the values ​​of social and environmental responsibility listed in the specifications.

Finally, Davos recommends facilitating their access to financing.

Because it is not easy for them to convince financiers looking for returns when money is not the goal in itself of their activity.

All these claims are beginning to be heard by governments.

The European Union has created a portal to facilitate access to grants.

The development of the social and solidarity economy is one of the priorities of the French presidency of the EU.

►In brief

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The company is on its

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The homestay rental platform will end its services on July 30.

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Airbnb executives have not given an official explanation for this departure.

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