Wales Co-operative Centre
Canolfan Cwdweithredol Cymru

Our projects

Social Enterprise Support Project

The Wales Co-operative Centre supports the development and growth of social entrepreneurship, social enterprises and co-operatives in the Convergence area of Wales.

Our team of specialist advisors work with groups who wish to set up a new social enterprise or co-operative. We also work with existing social enterprises and co-operatives who wish to grow and develop.

For more information please visit our section on Business support.

Business Succession and Consortia

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and The Welsh Government this project will be delivered over 3 years. The project has 2 strands:

Strand 1 - will support businesses wishing to establish co-operative consortia. Support would include organisational and governance issues, legal structure advice as well as business and financial planning for the consortium.

Strand 2 - will support business owners and employees through the process of selling the business to the employees. It will provide legal advice, business valuation, structure advice, employee benefit trust and Share Incentive Plans advice.

For more information please visit our section on Business support.

Communities 2.0

C2.0 is the Welsh Government’s digital inclusion programme that is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by a Consortium Partnership of four organisations, led by the Wales Co-operative Centre.  The three other organisations are the University of Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire County Council and Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services.  The programme has a total of 58 team members and a total budget of £22m.  It runs from 2009-2015.

The programme forms part of the delivery of the Welsh Government’s Digital Wales Strategy.  It includes ICT support for micro and social enterprises, community and voluntary groups and individuals.  C2.0 works throughout the Convergence area of Wales and also Wrexham, Flintshire and parts of Powys.  For more information, go to www.communities2point0.org.uk. 

Private consultancy

The Wales Co-operative Centre also delivers private consultancy work in areas such as business planning, feasibility studies, project evaluation, project management, writing funding applications and project proposals and specific research work linked to the social enterprise sector.

For more information, please contact the Centre.

Training

The Wales Co-operative Centre offers a comprehensive programme of training in business skills, organisational development and interpersonal skills for those working in the Third Sector.

Our workshops and classes are open to everyone. We operate a system of price bands which apply depending on what sort of organisation you are a member of, or if you are an individual.

For more information and a list of current workshops, please visit our Training section.

Fair Trade for business

The Wales Co-operative Centre offers support and advice about adopting a Fair Trade policy for your business.

We describe the benefits and the reasons, and help with lists of suppliers and outlets for businesses in Wales.

For more information, see Fair Trade for business.