MONDRAGON leads ASETT, the Social Economy Hub for social transformation

The Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES) has presented ASETT, the new Hub of the Social Economy, at the Miramar Palace in Donostia. This project, led by CEPES with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy of the Government of Spain, seeks to promote the social economy in Spain and Europe, and position it as a key business model in social and economic transformation.

Iñigo Albizuri, director of Institutional Relations at MONDRAGON, will be in charge of leading ASETT, an initiative that, as he stressed during his speech, "has a clear international vocation." The Hub aims to promote cooperation, research and innovation within the field of the social economy, a sector that already represents 10% of the State's GDP and 8% of the GDP of the European Union, with more than 74,000 companies and entities of this type, which employ more than 12 million people, of which 2.5 million correspond to the Social Economy in Spain.

The Asett team during the presentation at the Miramar Palace in Donostia.

The event, which brought together more than 100 representatives of the sector, was attended by prominent political and institutional actors, such as Yolanda Díaz, Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Labour and Social Economy; Juan Antonio Pedreño, President of CEPES; Eneko Goia, Mayor of Donostia; Eider Mendoza, Deputy General of Gipuzkoa; Mikel Torres, Second Vice-Lehendakari of the Basque Government; and Patxi Olabarria, President of the Higher Council of Cooperatives of the Basque Country. Also present were Directors General of the Social Economy of several autonomous communities, representatives of the academy and political actors from all over the State.

'Think tank' for research

In his speech, Albizuri presented the Hub's main lines of work for the coming months, which include the creation of a think tank dedicated to research in the economic, social and technological fields. In addition, a technical advisory programme and international missions will be launched to facilitate the exchange of experiences in social economy with countries and organisations around the world.

Another of the fundamental axes of ASETT will be its visibility plan, aimed at highlighting the added value of this economic model and its key players. The Hub will also launch an international centre for prospective analysis that will focus on generating knowledge about emerging sectors and dynamic scenarios, thus consolidating the transformative role of the social economy in the global context.