Wales Co-operative Centre

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Wales Co-operative Centre is a non-profit agency in Wales that helps co-operatives, social enterprises, and community groups. It is the largest co-operative development body in the UK and runs projects to improve social, financial, and digital inclusion. A team of advisers works across the country from offices in Caerphilly, Bangor, Carmarthen, and Swansea, with its head office in Y Borth.

Founded in 1982 by the Wales Trades Union Congress, the Centre started as an industrial and provident society and became a community benefit society in 2014. It is funded by the Welsh Government, the European Union, some local authorities, and earned income. It has more than 80 staff members.

What it does
- Supports co-operatives, social enterprises, community groups and voluntary organisations.
- Provides business advice, training, and specialist help.
- Works on credit unions, employee ownership, social enterprise networks, and digital inclusion.

Key milestones
- 1984: Published Wales’s first list of co-operatives and launched training courses.
- 1988: Helped establish Wales’s first credit union in Rhydfelin (Dragonsavers).
- 1995: Helped Tower Colliery become the largest employee-owned company.
- Late 1990s: Helped set up an NHS Trust-based credit union in Bridgend.
- 1999 onward: Began working with social enterprises and chaired the All Wales Social Enterprise Network.
- 2000s: Secured major funding from the Welsh Assembly Government and European funds; expanded activities.
- 2006: Launched Communities@One to support digital inclusion.
- 2007: Launched a Fair Trade project.
- 2009–2010: Won contracts for Social Enterprise Support and Communities 2.0.
- 2015: Began delivering Social Business Wales and Digital Communities Wales.
- 2016: Brought in Care to Co-operate and Community Shares Wales.

Leadership
- After 18 years with the Centre, chief executive Simon Harris left in 2010 and was replaced by Derek Walker.