Strengthening Cooperatives From Below - The COOPAfrica Program

A team of COPAC researchers attended a COOPAfrica Weekconference, convened by the ILO and the UK Cooperatives College, inDar-es-salaam, Tanzania in December 2007. Mervyn Wilson the Chief Executive andPrincipal of the UK Cooperative College was interviewed by  COPAC researchers on the meaning andobjectives of the COOPAfrica program and how it relates to COOPAfrica week.

What is COOPAfrica?

Coop Africa is a program funded by UK Department ofInternational Development and is run through the International LabourOrganisation in partnership with International Cooperative Alliance and UK CoopCollege. It aims to support the renaissance of coops in Africa in particularhow cooperatives in Africa can contribute to achieving the MilleniumDevelopment Goals. This will be done through building on positive experiences of cooperatives in Africa,identifying where good practice exists and sharing that through centers ofcompetence. While various international partners will contribute to theprogram, it aims to build capacity within the continent to support the growthof successful cooperative enterprises over the next three years. Funding isinitially being granted for one year, but it is envisaged that this program will be for three years. Ifsuccessful  additional funding willbe attracted into the program from other donors.

How does CoopAfrica Week link to the COOPAfrica program?

COOPAfrica Week is an initiative to kick start this processand is intended to achieve two things. First, share experiences from a numberof research projects.  Theresearch  on cooperatives in Africaconducted by ILO in 2005/2006 led by a team of researchers in Belgium withresearchers from twelve African countries is important in this regard. Thisupdates the old perceptions that shaped donor policy since the early 1990s.This shows that while there has been a negative impact to apex structures andcooperative unions, the cooperative movement has survived the liberalisationand adjustment programs in Africa. These cooperatives are confronting adifficult market environment and are more focused to deal with these pressures.We are also looking at research on education materials and curriculum reformfrom the Moshi University College, Tanzania and Ambo College, Ethiopia. Finallytwo other pieces of research feed into this. The Moshi College has doneresearch on factors that contribute to an enabling environment forcooperatives. There is also important research  on how to engage young people in schools into cooperatives.Essentially, there is a whole lot of different pieces of research that willinform the achievement of the COOPAfrica program.

What do you hope to achieve as key outcomes from COOPAfricaweek?

The first is an engagement with heads of Colleges andtraining institutions, from the ten countries present, to build a network. Thisis the first stage of building a network beyond  bi-lateral relations. It is over a decade since a meaningfulnetwork of relationships existed. If the program is going to be successful thencollaboration has to become meaningful. The participants have to learn abouteach others strengths, have to know each other and start moving to a situationin which each one can lead on an aspect of the program. I can see a verysignificant movement from the launch event a few months ago. The networkbuilding is an important output.

Second is clarity on priorities. There is a clear consensusemerging around this on recognising the importance of curriculum reform, membertraining, good governance, developing leadership skills and working atgrass-roots. We will also engage on apex structures and how we articulate thevoice of cooperatives. In another sense the program is about strengthening apexbodies. Another strand linked to this is strengthening grass roots cooperativesin terms of market access. Fair trade, for example, has transformed the livesof many small scale producers. We want to develop a focus within the program tolearn lessons from these experiences. This would also be about howinternational market access  issecured but as important how domestic markets are being accessed.

In short, this week is about clarifying projects within theprogram that would assist in realising its objectives.