Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária

What Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária does

Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária (FBES) is a Brazilian civil society organization and national articulation network for the solidarity economy (economia solidária) movement. Founded in 2001 during the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre and formally constituted as FBES in 2003, it coordinates a federated network of 160 municipal, microregional and state forums across all 27 Brazilian states, connecting approximately 3,000 solidarity economy enterprises, 500 support/advisory entities, and public managers from 200 municipalities and 12 state governments. Its three primary constituencies are Solidary Economy Enterprises (cooperatives, associations, self-management groups), Support and Advisory Entities (training, incubation and capacity-building organizations), and Public Managers responsible for solidary economy policy at municipal, state and federal levels.

FBES's core offering is the network itself rather than a discrete commercial product. Operationally, it organizes national plenaries (most recently the VI Plenária Nacional in December 2022), co-ordinates the Rede de Gestores de Políticas Públicas de Economia Solidária, maintains the Acervo Digital (an online library of publications and institutional documents), participates in the Conselho Nacional de Economia Popular e Solidária (CNES) which was reinstated in October 2023 after five years of paralysis, and conducts international articulation through the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Solidarity Economy (RIPESS). Its underlying infrastructure is limited to a WordPress-based website, the digital library, and active Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube channels — there is no proprietary technology stack or AI capability in evidence.

As a civil society organization, FBES does not generate commercial revenue. Its operating model relies on partnerships with five national coordination entities (Unicafes, Cáritas Brasileira, Instituto Marista de Solidariedade, Rede ITCPs, Rede Unitrabalho), federal policy dialogue (notably with SENAES under the Ministry of Labour and Employment), and engagement with the Lula administration through CNES and government-transition documents. The organization is headquartered in Brasília (SGAN 914, Conjunto F, Casa 1, Asa Norte) with a staff of 21 employees, and is governed through a National Coordination and Executive Coordination drawn from all regions of Brazil.

Name

Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária

Legal name

Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária

Website

https://fbes.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária (FBES) is a Brazilian civil society network founded in 2001–2003 that coordinates the solidarity economy movement across 27 states via 160 forums, 3,000 solidarity enterprises, and 500 support entities, while engaging federal government policy through the reinstated CNES council and SENAES.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solidarity Economy Network Coordination Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Donor Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation (MEL) Programs (BPADABAN)

Keywords

• Solidarity economy network
• Cooperative movement coordination
• Public policy advocacy
• Social economy forums
• Civil society organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Brasília

HQ country

Brazil

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, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FBES is a civil society organization that articulates and coordinates Brazil's solidarity economy movement through a federated network of 160 municipal, microregional and state forums across all 27 Brazilian states, connecting approximately 3,000 solidarity economy enterprises, 500 advisory/support entities and public policy managers. Its core activity consists of convening dialogue, producing and disseminating knowledge via the Acervo Digital, organizing national plenaries and free conferences, and conducting policy advocacy including direct engagement with the federal government through SENAES and the Conselho Nacional de Economia Popular e Solidária (CNES).

Product overview

Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária (FBES) is a national articulation network for Brazil's solidarity economy movement, not a traditional software product company. The organization operates as a federated structure connecting 160 municipal, microregional, and state-level forums across all 27 Brazilian states, involving approximately 3,000 solidarity economy enterprises, 500 support entities, and public policy managers. Key offerings include the FBES Network platform for coordination, the Rede de Gestores de Políticas Públicas de Economia Solidária (a government policy manager network), the Acervo Digital (digital library with publications and resources), participation in the CNES (National Council for Solidarity Economy), and organization of national conferences on food security and solidarity economy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FBES National Network (Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária Network) National articulation network connecting 160 municipal, microregional and state forums, approximately 3,000 solidarity economy enterprises and 500 advisory/support entities across 27 Brazilian states, providing dialogue, mobilization and representation services to the solidarity economy movement.
• Rede de Gestores de Políticas Públicas de Economia Solidária Network of public policy managers connecting municipal and state governments to solidarity economy initiatives; provides coordination, policy dialogue and consultation services to government actors implementing solidarity economy policies.
• Acervo Digital (Digital Library) Online digital library aggregating publications, articles, videos, institutional documents and educational materials on solidarity economy themes; freely accessible to solidarity enterprises, support entities, researchers and the general public.
• Conferências Livres Nacionais (Free National Conferences) Free national conferences convened by FBES to mobilize solidarity economy enterprises, support entities and public managers, generate collective policy positions and feed into broader national conference processes such as the 6th National Conference on Food and Nutritional Security.
• Plenárias Nacionais do FBES (National Plenaries) Recurring national plenaries that bring together representatives from solidarity economy enterprises, support entities and public managers from across Brazil to define the political orientation of the movement and elect national coordination; the VI Plenária Nacional de Economia Solidária was held in Brasília in December 2022 with participants from 26 states.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reinstallation of Conselho Nacional de Economia Popular e Solidária after 5 years of paralysis in October 2023

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

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

• Conselho Nacional de Economia Popular e Solidária (CNES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFBES participates in CNES which was reinstalled in October 2023 after 5 years. The council works on organizing the 4th national conference and developing regulatory framework for solidarity economy sector.
• União Nacional das Organizações Cooperativas Solidárias (UNICOPAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFBES and UNICOPAS jointly elaborated Documento Básico da Economia Solidária e do Cooperativismo Solidário delivered to the Government Transition team in November 2022
• Conselho Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (CONSEA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFBES participates in 6ª Conferência Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (December 2023) with theme 'Erradicar a Fome e Garantir Direitos com Comida de Verdade, Democracia e Equidade'
• Secretaria Nacional de Economia Solidária (SENAES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSENAES was created in late 2002 following FBES advocacy. The two organizations maintain policy dialogue for promoting solidary economy development. SENAES is part of Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Governo Federal do Brasil (Federal Government of Brazil)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFBES engages with federal government for policy development, including participation in government transition team documentation and ongoing dialogue with President Lula's administration
• RIPESS (Rede Intercontinental para a Promoção da Economia Solidária)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational intercontinental network for promotion of solidarity economy connecting Brazilian movement with Latin American and global solidarity economy actors
• 12 Governments Estaduais (State Governments)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner12 Brazilian state governments participate in Rede de Gestores de Políticas Públicas de Economia Solidária coordinated by FBES
• 160 Fóruns Municipais e Microrregionais (Municipal and Microregional Forums)coreOthers160 municipal and microregional forums form the grassroots base of FBES network across Brazil
• National Entities (Unicafes, Cáritas Brasileira, IMS, Rede ITCPs, Rede Unitrabalho)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive national entities form the coordination structure: União Nacional das Cooperativas da Agricultura Familiar e Economia Solidária (Unicafes), Cáritas Brasileira, Instituto Marista de Solidariedade (IMS), Rede Universitária de Incubadoras Tecnológicas de Cooperativas Populares (Rede ITCPs), and Rede Unitrabalho

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CECOP-CICOPA Europe: CECOP-CICOPA is the European confederation of cooperatives and worker-owned enterprises active in industry and services. Like FBES, it represents self-managed production cooperatives and advocates for their public policy interests, making it a direct peer in the worker cooperative subsegment.
• RIPESS (Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Solidarity Economy): RIPESS is the global intercontinental federation of solidarity economy networks, of which FBES is a member. It performs the same articulation function at the global level (connecting solidarity economy actors across continents) that FBES performs nationally for Brazil.
• INAISE (International Association of Investors in the Social Economy): INAISE is an international association of social economy finance institutions and ethical investors. It is comparable to FBES as a federation of solidarity-aligned enterprises, but its focus is on capital provision rather than movement articulation and policy advocacy.
• UNICOPAS (União Nacional das Organizações Cooperativas Solidárias): UNICOPAS is a Brazilian national articulation body for solidarity cooperatives and a strategic co-convener of the Documento Básico da Economia Solidária. It overlaps FBES's segment (solidary cooperatives) and operates in the same Brazilian federal policy arena, including joint CNES participation.

Regional players

• Social Economy Europe: Social Economy Europe is the EU-level umbrella representing social economy enterprises and associations to European institutions. It plays the same Brussels-based advocacy and federation role that FBES plays in Brasília, but for the European social economy sector.
• Chantier de l'économie sociale (Quebec): Chantier is the Quebec coalition for the social economy and serves as a regional articulation body for cooperatives, mutuals, and non-profits. It is a structural analogue to FBES at the sub-national level, performing the same network coordination and public policy advocacy function in a different geography.
• NESSE (Network of European Social Economy Stakeholders): NESSE is a stakeholder network coordinating European social economy advocacy. It performs a similar coordination and policy advocacy function to FBES, but at the EU level and with a broader social economy scope beyond solidarity cooperatives.
• REAS (Red de Economía Alternativa y Solidaria): REAS is the Spanish network of alternative and solidarity economy networks, federating member entities across Spain and active in Latin America. It is functionally analogous to FBES as a civil society articulation network for solidarity economy enterprises, applied to the Iberian and Latin American context.

Emerging players

• EMES Network (Emergence of Social Enterprise in Europe): EMES is a European research network studying social enterprise and the solidarity economy. It is comparable to FBES as a community of practice spanning academia, civil society, and practitioners, though it is more research-oriented than FBES's mobilization-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• International Cooperative Alliance (ICA): ICA is the global apex organization for cooperatives, representing hundreds of millions of cooperative members worldwide. It is comparable to FBES as a federating platform for cooperative and self-management enterprises, but operates at a much larger scale and is not specific to the solidarity economy niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/forumecosol
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCeZGxNFrN_GYeghwijGrHvw
• Facebookfacebook.com/F%C3%B3rum-Brasileiro-de-Economia-Solid%C3%A1ria-FBES-1451425421746506
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/f-rum-brasileiro-de-economia-solid-ria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fórum Brasileiro de Economia Solidária