ILO COOP Unit Manager was invited to Moldova, a small, lower-middle income country in South Eastern Europe, to consult with the ILO constituents and partners in identifying needs and opportunities toward cooperative action in rural and informal economies.

The consultations that were held over a three day period (May 21-23, 2019) pointed toward: the relevance of cooperation for rural producers to increase market access especially in high value chains; and the potential of social economy enterprises toward improving the livelihoods and working conditions of informal economy workers. At the same time issues around trust in the cooperative model due to the historical legacy of kolkhozes and some of the unsound interventions around cooperatives in the post-Soviet era call for caution and require a well-thought out, incremental approach.

The mission therefore concluded with the proposal to develop two pilot initiatives that can test innovations around cooperation in rural and informal economies with a potential for further expansion in the future.