Komvos Social Hub is a newly established initiative in Karditsa, aiming to support the creation and operation of projects emerging within the broader cooperative ecosystem. It presents itself as a “collaboration hub” that, beyond the support services it provides, places particular emphasis on fostering cooperation among the initiatives it serves and supports, that is, on horizontal connective action. Giorgos Bellis, a member of the Komvos team, offers additional and more detailed information about the initiative, as well as about the broader cooperative ecosystem in the Karditsa area.
What is Komvos Social Hub and what does it do?
Komvos Social Hub is a business consultancy specialising in civil society organisations, as well as social, cultural and environmental organisations and collectives. It was created to support such organisations in the Karditsa region.
It has been more than two years since we started this initiative, initially and for quite some time as a volunteer group. We are proud of the collaborations we have already developed with important local actors. We hear very positive feedback. Taking stock so far, we see that our initiative is likely to do well. It appears that what we are doing is useful.
Could you be more specific?
We address needs that had not been met until now. Many organisations lack flexibility in their activities, do not know how to organise new initiatives, do not operate in innovative ways, and tend to repeat the same formats over and over again. This is precisely where we come in. We help organisations design and organise new initiatives, without dismissing what already exists.
So could we say that an ecosystem is emerging, or perhaps a coherent logic within the ecosystem?
At the moment, there is an ecosystem in the Karditsa region. However, I would not describe it as a conscious ecosystem. There are organisations that collaborate in small groups. We also see, for example, cultural organisations operating separately from social actors or environmental collectives. At the same time, all of them face very similar needs in terms of organisation and funding. Yet they do not fully recognise these shared needs.
So yes, there is an ecosystem of collaborating actors, but it is not yet sufficiently conscious in terms of designing shared services and implementing joint initiatives.
What does cooperative entrepreneurship seek in the region? In which sectors is it most active?
What we observe is that people have a strong desire to create. However, this is not easy in practice. To do anything, you have to be a bit of everything: an accountant, a lawyer, an economist. You need to know a lot, because bureaucracy is complex. The requirements for setting up something organised are demanding. Often, initiatives do not move forward precisely because of these constraints. At the same time, structures that were established 40, 50 or 60 years ago continue to exist unchanged, as any modification requires significant organisational effort.
For now, people have needs mainly in the fields of culture and sport, which they try to meet through existing structures. We believe that the current situation does not fully channel the creative energy of contemporary society. We also see that in the field of agri-food production and processing, there is very little cooperation. More generally, there are very few initiatives that operate cooperatively or could potentially do so.
Do you think there is now an understanding or awareness of how a cooperative venture works? For example, within the banking system, public institutions or among accountants?
We are still far from that. Take accounting, for example. Around 95% of the organisations we encounter want to change their accountant. This is not because the accountant is necessarily incompetent, but because there is a lack of expertise regarding cooperative initiatives. At Komvos Social Hub, we currently provide services only for non-profit civil companies. This shows how much ground still needs to be covered, since these services should also extend to associations, social cooperatives and worker cooperatives. There are many legal forms, each with a different framework. An agricultural cooperative and an urban cooperative operate differently in accounting terms. If accounting represents only 10% of the overall effort, then the distance to be covered is considerable. Much more needs to be done at the organisational and administrative levels, in financing and in training.
Beyond your own initiative, is there a prospect for horizontal networking? Are there organizations that support this initiative and see a future in it?
This is exactly what we mean when we speak about a non-conscious ecosystem. This kind of horizontal networking, as you put it, is largely absent. We are not yet at a stage where shared services exist. There are even cases where we are perceived as competitors, despite the fact that we support organisations free of charge. It is difficult for people to recognise that there is a real need for interconnection and for the development of shared services, that everyone essentially needs the same things. We believe that much more effort is required before we can truly speak of a conscious ecosystem.