The ministry of cooperatives, labor, and social welfare is planning to increase the contribution of cooperatives to the GDP from a current 5% to over 25%, Persian daily Forsat Emrooz quoted a ministry deputy as saying.
In a bid to boost the role of cooperatives in the economy, it is necessary that cooperatives with brand new approaches are developed, Bayazid Mardoukhi said.
“In an environment where banks pursue capitalist principles, cooperatives cannot grow,” he said, adding that in such conditions the cooperatives either remain small, or will be quickly excluded from the economic cycle and disappear.
“Our macroeconomic policies overlook the role of people’s involvement in the economy,” he said, hoping that the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan considers the issue.
However, there are giant cooperatives with branches in over 70 countries around the world, he added.
Calling for a change in attitude towards cooperatives, he said people must be encouraged to establish cooperatives.
He suggested that new target groups are determined to establish cooperatives, like retired people,” who have the time and motivation to invest their savings in setting up small businesses in the fields of services and manufacturing.”
