The literature on entrepreneurship has developed a huge body of fruitful research to explain why women do not engage in business as often as men. However, relatively little is known about the role that different business models may play in driving women's entrepreneurial activity, which is examined in this study.In this paper we develop a model to empirically test the relationship between women's motivations to become entrepreneurs and their willingness to embark on business through cooperatives, a particular organizational model. We find that the fit between women's needs and expectations and the guiding principles of cooperatives is decisive for the materialization of female entrepreneurship. Furthermore, we explore the role that institutions can play in fostering this link. In doing so, we extend the literature on women's entrepreneurship by highlighting key factors to better channel the development of this potential resource for economic development. Our confirmatory model highlights the role of cooperatives as a type of organization particularly suited to the interests and needs of women entrepreneurs. Thus, the promotion of this business model can be useful to improve the number of women entrepreneurs and, in turn, enhance economic development.

The number of organizations under the scope of Social Economy (SE) in Galicia (i.e., a Spanish autonomous community) has noticeably increased since 2005, particularly if we focus on cooperatives. This evolution has maintained even in the worst years of the economic crisis, differing from the behaviour that had other corporative models in the same period and region. The Eusumo Network seems have been critical for this development. This network is a public policy aimed to promote both cooperatives and SE. In its design, Eusumo’s main objective was to provide aid to set up new cooperative projects as a beneficial driver for employment; and also, to contribute to the consolidation of the existent companies in SE by improving their competitiveness. In this work it is argued that the Eusumo Network could be leading to raising a favourable ecosystem for Galician cooperatives, as well as other organizations in the SE sector, and that this effect could be munificent to the achievement of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDG), especially those regarding quantitative and qualitative improvement of the employment (objectives number 8 and 9). To start with this argument, we provide a description of the relationship between SE and the SDG. Then, we continue to explain the Eusumo Network, by deeply explaining the model (namely, its aims and both managerial and financial processes). We also explore Eusumo’s role as a driver for the creation of organizations and provide a 360º assessment from stakeholders. Finally, we contribute some best practices to favour the dissemination of this tool among other contexts. The results of our work suggest that Eusumo has played a critical role in Galician’s micro-entrepreneurship. Taking into account the contextual reality of this autonomous community (high dispersion of population, hard aging, wide zones with depopulation, strong people’s concentration in urban zones, abandonment of the rural, for example-), our findings suggest a desirable improvement of the project. We are mindful that this tool can be beneficial on returning this trend. Besides, our results also shed light on an example of public policy that might contribute to the improvement of a favourable ecosystem to SE and, in turn, to the achievement of the SDGs in Galicia.