CONFECOOP

What CONFECOOP does

CONFECOOP (Confederación de Cooperativas de Colombia) is the maximum national integration body of the Colombian cooperative movement, legally constituted under Law 79 of 1988 and Law 454 of 1998. Headquartered in Bogotá, it represents 3,500 cooperatives and roughly 6.5 million individual members across 27 departments and more than 20 economic sectors, including savings and credit, agricultural production, healthcare, insurance, education, transportation, housing, consumption, public services, tourism, commerce, mining, and associated work. The cooperative sector it represents contributes approximately 4% of Colombian GDP and holds a portfolio on the order of 28 billion pesos, with 91% of members belonging to socioeconomic strata 1–3, making it a structural channel for grassroots financial and social inclusion. Its operating constituency also extends globally through its membership in the International Cooperative Alliance (ACI) and Cooperativas de las Américas, positioning it as the bridge between Colombian cooperatives and the worldwide cooperative movement of roughly 3 million organizations and 1.1 billion members.

The organization's core offerings are gremial representation, policy advocacy, and convening rather than commercial products. Its flagship is the annual National Cooperative Congress (Congreso Nacional Cooperativo), with the 25th edition scheduled for August 20–21, 2026 in Cartagena under the theme of cooperative power in national development, alongside Innovacoop as a parallel innovation-focused conference. It also publishes policy proposals, research documents, and sector analyses; distributes the Comunicoop newsletter; maintains a multilingual social media presence; issues fraud-prevention advisories; and participates, alongside the URF and Superintendencia de la Economía Solidaria, in the construction of Open Data and Open Finance decrees for the solidarity sector. The underlying technology footprint is limited to a WordPress-based website, an event registration and certificate-issuance platform, and a mobile congress app; no public APIs, SDKs, or proprietary software products are offered.

CONFECOOP is structured as a non-profit guild (entidad gremial sin ánimo de lucro) with a 21-person team led by Executive President Carlos Ernesto Acero and Secretary General Jorge Hernando Leal. It does not sell commercial products or services, does not publish pricing, and does not raise venture or public equity capital; operations are funded by membership dues and event-related income. Governance is exercised through a Junta Directiva, Junta de Vigilancia, and Revisoría Fiscal. The 2025 conferral of the Orden del Congreso de Colombia en el Grado de Comendador and the Orden de la Democracia Simón Bolívar en Grado de Comendador formalized its position as the statutory voice of the national cooperative movement.

Name

CONFECOOP

Legal name

CONFEDERACIÓN DE COOPERATIVAS DE COLOMBIA – CONFECOOP

Website

https://confecoop.coop

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CONFECOOP is the Colombian national confederation of cooperatives, representing 3,500 cooperatives and 6.5 million members across 27 departments and 20+ economic sectors. As a non-profit guild, it provides sector representation, policy advocacy, annual congresses, and integration services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cooperative Trade Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Federations/Centrals & Cooperative Banking Networks (2nd-Tier Co-ops) (FSABAEAL)

Keywords

• Cooperative representation
• Trade association services
• Sector advocacy
• Cooperative integration
• Cooperative events

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CONFECOOP serves as the national trade association (gremio) for the Colombian cooperative sector, representing 3,500 cooperatives and approximately 6.5 million members. It provides gremial representation, regulatory advocacy with government bodies, sector integration, annual events including the National Cooperative Congress, sector publications, policy proposals, and a news portal. Its core function is to defend and unify the cooperative sector's interests nationally and internationally.

Product overview

CONFECOOP (Confederación de Cooperativas de Colombia) is the maximum integration body for Colombian cooperatives, serving as a guild/representative organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings center on: (1) the annual 25° Congreso Nacional Cooperativo, a flagship event for reflection and policy advocacy; (2) Innovacoop innovation conferences; (3) publications including policy proposals and research documents; (4) the Actualidad news portal covering sector developments; (5) event registration and certificate services; and (6) fraud prevention advisories. These services support the cooperative movement's representation, integration, and development rather than offering a unified software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Congreso Nacional Cooperativo (CNCOOP) Annual flagship in-person conference of the Colombian cooperative sector, bringing together 3,500 cooperatives, 6.5 million members, government regulators, and partner organizations for plenary sessions, panels, and sector networking. Includes paid registration and downloadable digital certificates for attendees.
• Innovacoop Innovation-focused annual conference series for the cooperative sector, aimed at surfacing cooperative innovation, transformation, and best practices for Colombian cooperative organizations and their leaders.
• Comunicoop Newsletter Periodic newsletter distributed to cooperative members and partners covering sector news, regulatory updates, event announcements, and confederation activities.
• Documentos y Publicaciones (Sector Publications) Library of sector publications including cooperative yearbook (Anuario), policy proposals, model statutes, sectoral analyses, and reference documents used by cooperative organizations and sector stakeholders.
• Actualidad (Sector News Portal) Online news portal providing up-to-date coverage of the Colombian cooperative sector, including regulatory updates, sector developments, and confederation positions.
• Fraud Prevention Alerts Advisory alerts issued by CONFECOOP warning cooperative members and the public about fraudulent schemes, impersonation attempts, and scams targeting cooperatives.
• Open Data Initiative for Sector Solidario Digital initiative to advance Open Data and Open Finance capabilities for the solidarity economy sector, supporting transparency, sector analytics, and access to cooperative sector information.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Cooperativas de las AméricascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperativas de las Américas is the regional arm of the International Cooperative Alliance (ACI) for the Americas. CONFECOOP is a member and works closely with this organization on initiatives including webinars, regional cooperation, and global cooperative movement activities.
• International Cooperative Alliance (ACI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal federation of cooperatives. CONFECOOP belongs to the global cooperative movement represented by the International Cooperative Alliance and various cooperative networks. Cooperates on international standards, identity initiatives (Coop brand), and global advocacy.
• United Nations (ONU)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN declared 2025 as International Year of Cooperatives. The global cooperative movement through ACI promotes the seventh cooperative principle 'Commitment to the Community' aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• International Labour Organization (ILO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONFECOOP participates in ILO discussions on platform work and gender equality. Cooperatives advocate for binding conventions on platform work and recognition of cooperative model in international labor frameworks.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean collaborates with Cooperativas de las Américas on webinars about women farmers, pastoral systems, and cooperativism in rural sustainability, in the framework of International Year of Women Farmers 2026.
• Unidad de Regulación Financiera (URF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerURF leads Open Data technical tables for the solidarity sector with support from the Digital Transformation facility of the UN System in Colombia. CONFECOOP participates in constructing Open Finance and Open Data frameworks for cooperatives.
• Superintendencia de la Economía Solidaria (SES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe supervisory body for the solidary economy works with CONFECOOP on regulatory matters, Open Data decrees, and sector policy development. CONFECOOP advocates for its members' interests before this regulator.
• PNUD (UNDP Colombia)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNDP Representative Claudio Tomasi recognized cooperatives as fundamental pillar for peace and social development in Colombia. UNDP committed to accompany cooperative movement as part of International Year of Cooperatives 2025.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DGRV (Deutscher Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband): German national confederation of cooperatives and Raiffeisen organizations, providing auditing, advisory and international cooperation services. Comparable as a national apex body supporting cooperative development internationally.
• Cooperatives Europe: European regional peak body representing cooperative enterprises to EU institutions. Highly comparable as a regional confederation performing policy advocacy and integration functions.
• CEPES (Confederación Empresarial Española de la Economía Social): Spanish peak confederation of the social economy, including cooperatives. Closely comparable in advocating for cooperative and social economy interests before government and regulators, but in a different geography.
• Cooperativas de las Américas: Regional arm of the International Cooperative Alliance for the Americas. CONFECOOP is an active member and collaborates with it on webinars, regional cooperation and global cooperative movement activities, making it the closest structural peer.
• National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA): US national cooperative business association that represents cooperatives in policy advocacy and international development. Comparable mandate and institutional positioning to CONFECOOP.
• Organização das Cooperativas Brasileiras (OCB): Brazilian national peak body for cooperatives, performing the same representational, advocacy and sector-coordination function for Brazilian cooperatives that CONFECOOP performs for Colombian ones.
• Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada: Canadian national peak body for co-operatives and mutuals, with an analogous mandate of national representation, policy advocacy and inter-cooperative integration.

Others

• Mondragon Corporation: Federated Basque cooperative group operating across industrial, retail, financial and knowledge sectors. Not a peer in representational mandate but a benchmark integrated cooperative model that informs CONFECOOP's strategic thinking.
• Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá: Bogotá-based business chamber with a similar representational and member-services mandate for the broader business community in the same city and country where CONFECOOP operates.

Broad incumbents

• International Cooperative Alliance (ICA / ACI): Global peak federation of cooperatives of which CONFECOOP is a member. Operates at a higher, global level but performs an overlapping representational and identity-defining function for the worldwide cooperative movement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ConfecoopCol
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CONFECOOP1
• Facebookfacebook.com/Confecoop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/confecoop
• Instagraminstagram.com/confecoop?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CONFECOOP