The Clade group wants to become the maximum reference for companies and cooperatives linked to the social economy of Catalonia. After overcoming the ravages of the pandemic, it has recovered growth and seeks to incorporate more entities under its umbrella. Born in 2004, today it brings together eleven entities from different sectors, such as Abacus, Suara, Fundació Blanquerna, Cooperativa Plana de Vic, Pere Claver Group or Comunitat Minera Olesana, among others.
“In 2022, we left the health crisis behind and the aggregate turnover of our entities grew by 6.5%, reaching 396 million euros,” comments the president, Tomàs Llompart, together with the general director, Maria Teixidor. Profits also increased, going from 1.2 million to 5.9 million, while employment grew by 6.5% to a total of 7,391 workers. “The figures would be even higher if we took into account the accession of Fedefarma this year,” comment the directors, who estimate that 2023 turnover will skyrocket by 1,000 million due to the activity of this pharmaceutical cooperative.
In addition, the group has put its efforts to incorporate new entities in 2024. “Two will join in January and a third will join in June. In addition, we are in talks to convince three or four more,” say the managers, who prefer not to reveal their name or the sector to which they belong.
Those entities that join Clade receive – in exchange for a fee – tools to boost and transform their business. “We are a space where common interests converge and where we can come together to claim our role in the economy,” they say. In fact, one of its main functions is to operate as a pressure group before legislators. “On many occasions, the laws do not take into account the operations of third sector entities,” they lament.
In addition, Clade works to promote the prestige of cooperativism after uncovering some frauds in the meat world or in the credit sections of agricultural cooperatives. “These isolated cases have done us a lot of harm and it is not fair, there are also fraudulent corporations and they are not criminalized as much,” she maintains.
The managers consider that the vast majority of entities in the third sector in Catalonia manage to respond to their triple purpose: obtaining income, social impact and environmental impact.