Cooperative

in Germany
 GROUP 2

1. Marjorie Necesito
2. Trixie Marie Manalo
3. Joanna Rose Morillo
4. Janessa Marie Loveres
5. Mary Angel Jed Galido

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Introduction:
Cooperatives are the economic form with the
most members in Germany; it is part of the 
intangible cultural heritage. Friedrich Wilhelm
Raiffeisen is regarded as the founder of the
cooperative movement. His conviction was that
many people working together can manage
what one person cannot manage alone. Today,
Germany’s 7,500 cooperative enterprises have
more than 20 million members.

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A German success story: in the middle of the nineteenth
century, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen and Herman Schulze-
Delitzsch founded around the same time the first cooperatives,
that is, associations of people pursuing a common goal in
accordance with the principles of self-help, self-management
and self-responsibility. Today, Germany has more than 7,500
cooperatives with a total of 20 million members, and the
number is growing. In contrast to other social formats,
cooperatives are formed not only for the sake of economic
success. People are propelled into these communities of
solidarity primarily for reasons of social justice and ecology.
Members of a cooperative are often also its employees or
customers. Today the model works not only in the areas of
agriculture, banking and trade; it also promises solutions for the
energy transition, influx of refugees and housing shortages.
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 Friedrich-Wilhelm Raiffeisen Energie
 eG, Eichenzell

In 2016 the registered cooperative company (eingetragene

Genossenschaft / eG) in the Fulda district began operation
of the Hofbieber wind farm, with the aim of generating 18
million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This will
benefit the environment, the community and the
cooperative members through the revenues. Hofbieber
can look forward to the more than 2.6 million euros that
are expected to flow into the community coffers in the
coming years for leasing and business tax. The idea was so
convincing that almost 190 cooperative members invested
2.7 million euros in it within a very short space of time. The
plan of attracting a financially strong partner could
therefore be scrapped. BEST FOR You
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 SprInt eG, Wuppertal

The project for language and integration mediation (Sprach-

und Integrationsvermittlung / Sprint), originally developed by
the social welfare work Diakonie Wuppertal, was organized as a
cooperative at the end of 2015 because of growing demand. Its
aim is to provide even more effectively participation in and
access to work and education for immigrants. Now more than
450 agencies and institutions use the services of the specially
trained and certified language and integration mediators,
including public administrations, work and health offices, youth
welfare facilities, clinics, schools and courts. This benefits both
the clients and the cooperative members, who work as its
employees.

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Wogeno eG, Munich

Wogeno in Munich was founded

already in 1993 
in order to provide social, ecological
and (in the meantime) above all affor
dable living space
. The numbers show how cogent the
idea is: four years ago, the
cooperative had 1,900 members, for
whom it provided 239 flats; now it
has double so many: 3,800 members
and 540 flats.
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Germany promote cooperatives in other countries
The German Society for International Cooperation
(GIZ), working on behalf of the Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ),
supports primarily agricultural cooperatives in
developing countries and emerging economies. One of
many successful examples is the Akkain Ouargane
 cooperative in south-west Morocco, where women
have joined forces to produce and market argan oil. In
the past, their husbands used to sell it at the roadside;
now it’s a profitable export product.

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 Co-operative Societies Act of 1889.

» German cooperative legislation is amongst the oldest in the world and has
served as inspiration for other countries, particularly in Europe and Asia. In
Germany, all registered cooperatives fall under the Co-operative Societies Act
of 1889.
» This law has been amended many times over the years, most recently in 2006 in
order to reflect the introduction of the EU’s Cooperative Society Regulation of
2003. At the same time, special rules apply to certain forms of cooperative. For
example, cooperative banks are subject to banking law, whilst housing
cooperatives benefitted from a law granting tax exemptions until this law was
revoked in 1990 (though existing housing cooperatives can apply for extensions
of their tax-exempt status).
» The ICA cooperative principles are not expressly mentioned in the German Co-
operative Societies Act, yet the definition contains reference to the first two
principles: voluntary and open membership and democratic member control.
Implicitly, the ICA principles are underlined in several articles of the law.

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 Cooperative friendliness

» Germany’s law on cooperatives is notable for

its flexibility which allows for innovation and
for new forms of cooperatives to develop.
Auditing requirements also ensure that
cooperatives are integrated into a strong
vertical network, protected against hostile
takeovers, and rarely go bankrupt.

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Key recommendations for improvement

Efforts should be concentrated on maintaining the

clear profile of cooperative societies as self-help
organisations for the promotion of their members
in accordance with ICA’s cooperative principles.
Whilst it is recognised that the auditing
requirements lead to high legal and organisational
costs for the formation of smaller cooperatives,
changes to the auditing requirements are not
recommended. Furthermore, cooperatives in
Germany would benefit from greater visibility,
which could be achieved by including cooperatives
within the university curricula.
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Conclusions

» Overall, cooperatives in
Germany benefit from a
strong and comprehensive
legal framework, yet efforts
should ensure the profile of
cooperatives remains distinct
from other types of enterprise.

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Thank You