As one of the pillars of the national economy alongside the public and private sectors, the cooperative sector—despite its significant potentials for enhancing welfare, organizing markets, and reducing distributional inefficiencies—holds a limited share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and continues to face a lack of recognition, research, and institutional attention at both academic and economic policy-making levels. The persistence of this situation has prevented the advantages of cooperatives—such as reducing the role of intermediation, increasing producers' share of the final price, combating purchasing monopolies in certain markets, and strengthening collective entrepreneurship—from being fully activated. On the other hand, the weak connection between the cooperative sector and academic institutions and educated youth, the low inclination of graduates to form cooperatives, and legal and financial ambiguities have intensified in the process of cooperative registration and operation. The analytical approach of the text emphasizes that a cooperative is not merely a social institution, but rather an economic enterprise with a cost and revenue structure that can be profitable within the framework of market logic and increase members' welfare through profits. Proposed solutions include strengthening the status of cooperatives in academic education and research, designing specialized familiarity and consulting programs for students and ideators, facilitating the legal and financial processes of registering and managing cooperatives, and utilizing cooperatives in job creation and poverty reduction policies, especially in rural and marginal areas.