Pellervo Coop Center
Central Organisation of Finnish Cooperatives
About Pellervo
Pellervo is a service and a lobbying organisation for all Finnish co-operatives and mutuals and a forum for co-operative activities.
Our goal is to make the co-operative and mutual business model more known to the public and offer the co-operative model as a competitive alternative for those thinking about starting a business.
Pellervo was founded in 1899 and the Pellervo name comes from the national epic of Finland Kalevala where Sampsa Pellervoinen is the patron of field and harvest.
Advocacy work
Pellervo strives to influence the legislative work and the economic and financial policies in Finland to accommodate the cooperative business model.
Pellervo’s message to the decision-makers: Diversity of business models increases economic performance
- One business model – investor owned – is not enough
- Cooperative businesses play a significant role in the everyday life of people
- The scope of cooperatives is constantly expanding
- Over 3 000 cooperatives and mutuals
- Over 7 million memberships
- Cooperatives mean Finnish ownership
- They invest in Finland
Current issues and themes:
- The government's Entrepreneurship Strategy
- The Parliament's Co-operative Group
- Government’s action plan 2019-2023
- Entrepreneurship education at schools
- Research and teaching
- Start-up advice
- Co-operative governance
- Sustainability and CSR
A woman now leads one in five Finnish co-operative enterprises
Pellervo Coop Center and Osuustoimintalehti (Co-operative Magazine) have surveyed the share of women in boards and management of co-operatives and mutual companies in Finland three times: in 2019, 2024, and 2026. The latest figures show that the positive trend has continued overall. The financial sector in particular is moving along well, and when it comes
Finnish cooperative advocate Shimelles Tenaw honored as one of Africa’s most influential cooperative leaders
Shimelles Tenaw, who has made Finland his home, has been named one of Africa’s 50 most influential cooperative leaders. He received the honor in June at the ICA Africa Cooperative Excellence Awards 2026 gala, held in Maputo, Mozambique.