Over one billion people around the world belong to a cooperative. Cooperative ventures employ well over 100 million people, creating more jobs than all the multinationals together. Successful examples can found in this country's agricultural, energy, retail and insurance sectors but Dirk Barrez and Lieve Jacobs are keen to stress just how very many opportunities are still available. Barrez's boek Coöperaties. Hoe heroveren we de economie? talks about cooperatives and how to reclaim the economy, while referring to the successful retails chains Coop and Migros in Switzerland. ‘Cooperative ventures also offer fresh opportunities for the self-employed, particularly in the retail sector. It is an alternative to the standard type of franchising, which often involves a negative pairing of the self-employed and employee statuses, compared with a cooperative, which is your own company allowing you to take your own decisions along with other people who join the venture.’ (RK, jun 2014)