Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) and Singapore International Year of Co-operatives National Committee Chairman Chan Tee Seng shared that SNCF’s mission is “to promote and develop co-operatives as sustainable enterprises through the principle of self and mutual help.”
Highlighting the important role of co-operative enterprises in Singapore’s social and economic development the past decades, Mr Chan, who is also CEO of NTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited, said: “One in two Singaporeans buy their groceries from NTUC FairPrice, a co-operative set up by the Labour Movement in Singapore.
“NTUC Income, the only co-operative insurer in Singapore, is the leading insurance provider in motor, health and life insurance. Both Income and Fairprice are in the Global 300 of co-operatives listed by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), a major index of the world's largest co-operative and mutual enterprises.”
The Global 300 report in 2011 states the world’s largest 300 co-ops generated revenues totalling US$1.6 trillion, comparable to the GDP of Spain, the world’s ninth largest economy.
Pointing out that unlike other forms of social enterprises, co-operatives are value-based organisations, he said: “In particular, the virtues of self and mutual help are so important in society, especially when faced with the challenges of increasing competition and stratification.
“Beyond economic success, we must also ask ourselves what is the type of society that we want to build? By nurturing the formation of co-operative enterprises, we hope to offer more platforms, to foster a more caring and resilient society. Co-operatives are formed not only to help and serve its members in an economically sustainable way, but for the wider good of society.”
Referring to the book `SuperCorp’ by keynote speaker Professor Rosabeth M Kanter of Harvard Business School, “she concludes that conventional business models are gradually giving way to companies which use their power not only for profits and growth but also social good. Co-operatives, by their very DNA, belong to this group of enterprises.”
Rounding off, Mr Chan hopes “that the co-operative model can be adopted, perhaps in partnership with the Government, to address some of the social challenges that we are facing today. These include an ageing population, health care needs and costs, low birth rates, and higher expectations of a young populace aspiring to a higher quality of life.”
