Building skills, cooperation, and enterprise for shared prosperity
A national movement advancing economic participation through skills, cooperation, and shared ownership. We work with communities to move from dependency to productivity — and from participation to ownership.
Working with communities, institutions, and partners across South Africa.
Economic Solidarity is not a slogan or a theory. It is a practical way of organising economic life around cooperation, shared ownership, and collective effort. ESSA exists to support individuals and communities to actively participate in building local economies that are ethical, inclusive, and sustainable.
ESSA translates the principles of Economic Solidarity into practical action through skills development, enterprise support, and cooperative education.
Practical, hands-on training for income generation and sustainable livelihoods
Supporting shared ownership and democratic business models
Collaborating with government, institutions, and communities to scale impact
Mobilising local resources and collective action for shared prosperity
South Africa faces persistent unemployment, inequality, and exclusion from meaningful economic opportunity. While millions work hard every day, ownership of productive assets and economic decision-making remains highly concentrated.
From Participation to Ownership: Economic freedom cannot be achieved through wages alone. It requires expanding ownership, skills, and control over productive activity. Economic Solidarity offers a pathway from survival to sustainability, and from individual struggle to collective strength.
Practical skills for people, cooperatives, and community enterprises.
The Skills Academy is the primary implementation arm of ESSA. It delivers hands-on training and enterprise development programmes designed to equip individuals, cooperatives, and communities with practical tools for income generation and sustainable livelihoods.
From idea validation to market entry
Democratic management and shared ownership
Personal, household and enterprise finance
Scaling local solutions to community challenges
The Economic Solidarity book provides the philosophical and practical foundation of the movement. It explores why existing economic systems exclude the majority, and how cooperation, shared ownership, and skills development can form the basis of inclusive local economies. The book is used as a learning resource, a training foundation, and a reference point for institutional and community engagement.
Buy the BookReal outcomes from communities applying Economic Solidarity principles.
Within 6 months of cooperative training completion, members launched sustainable, community-owned businesses.
Transforming an underutilized public space into a thriving marketplace that keeps wealth circulating locally.
Participants moved from survival to building intergenerational assets within 18 months.
Insights, research, and practical applications. ESSA produces articles, insights, and learning materials that support reflection, education, and the practical application of Economic Solidarity principles.
Economic solidarity refers to a system where individuals, communities, and institutions support one another financially and socially to promote inclusive economic growth.
Read MoreHow financial literacy training transforms not just individual households but entire communities through shared savings and investment strategies.
Read MoreCase studies of successful community enterprises and the pathways they took from concept to sustainable operation.
Read MoreEconomic Solidarity grows through participation. Some walk with us as partners in implementation. Others support the movement as donors, enabling skills training, community projects, and cooperative development to reach more people.
Every contribution — whether time, expertise, or resources — strengthens collective economic power.
Community Voices
Hear from those directly impacted by Economic Solidarity principles.
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