The Centre of Expertise for Cooperative Entrepreneurship (KCO KU Leuven) is a research and teaching centre embedded in KU Leuven’s Faculty of Economics and Business. It was established through an agreement between KU Leuven, Cera and Boerenbond, signed on 19 October 2015, and officially launched at the end of that year.27
KCO’s work focuses on cooperative entrepreneurship and the organisational, economic and policy issues faced by cooperatives throughout their development. Its research covers topics including cooperative governance, impact measurement, social enterprise, democratic organisation and the growth of cooperative businesses.211 The centre also monitors the Belgian cooperative sector through projects such as the Belgian Cooperative Monitor, which examines cooperatives’ economic importance, governance and societal impact.9
Education and knowledge transfer are central activities. KCO offers courses and executive education on cooperative entrepreneurship, as well as workshops, lectures and webinars.10 In 2026, it launched the free online course Cooperative entrepreneurship: organising for sustainability, making its teaching available to students and the wider public.14 The centre also develops evidence-based tools and seeks to connect academic research with cooperative practitioners and policy stakeholders.211
KCO is headquartered at Naamsestraat 69 in Leuven, Belgium, and is part of KU Leuven’s Campus Leuven.36 Its principal geographic focus is Belgium, particularly the cooperative sector and its supporting organisations, while its research, educational resources and partnerships have a broader European and international reach.914
Professor Luc Sels is head of KCO and holder of the Cera-Boerenbond Chair in Cooperative Entrepreneurship.510 Professor Frédéric Dufays is the scientific coordinator, while Stefanie Friedel is responsible for practical coordination and valorisation activities.1213