Cooperatives formation key to socio-economic growth of Africa, say experts

Formation of strong organized cooperatives will play a crucial role towards the transformation of Africa's social and economic development, according to experts at the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Africa conference being held in Rwandan capital Kigali.

The meeting is organized by the ICA, a non- governmental cooperative federation representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide.

It focuses on fostering inter-cooperative links by capitalizing on the existing diverse and very rich range of co-operative experiences in Africa and beyond to ensure that they contribute sustainable development goals.

Speaking at the meeting on Sunday, Francois Kanimba, Rwanda minister of trade and industry said that due to their economic orientation, co-operatives contribute significantly to social integration, job creation and the reduction of poverty.

"African co-operatives should be empowered and nurtured to embrace self-reliance, equality among members and equity in distribution of and access to the benefits for better and sustainable social and economic growth of the country," he added.

Kanimba stated that co-operatives need to adopt approaches that integrate the social, economic, political and environmental dimensions of cooperative model.

The event will deliberate ways to ensure co-operatives become engines of economic growth that offers a dynamic and flexible business model in production, marketing and service delivery.

According to Stanley Charles Muchiri, ICA Africa President, if co-operatives want to bring change to the rest of the world, then much more will be achieved when working together as a strong organization.

"Cooperatives provide over 250 million jobs worldwide, which is paramount towards achieving sustainable development in Africa. They empower people and enable even the poorest segments of the population to participate in economic and social progress," he said.

At the forum, participants argued that governments need to support co-operatives by creating a good environment to let them grow and develop.

"Sustainability of enterprises contributes to poverty alleviation by generating employments and improved access to financial services," emphasized Augustin Katabarwa, National Cooperative Federation of Rwanda.

More than 400 participants including government officials, heads of international co-operatives and associations, economists, civil society, private sector and community development experts from Africa and beyond are attending the four-day conference that concludes Monday. Endit