How cooperatives contribute to sustainable development
Nation Sacco members follow proceedings during the 48th Annual General Meeting at St. Andrews PCEA Church on February 17, 2024.
With over three million cooperatives globally and a workforce accounting for ten per cent of the global labour force the role that cooperatives play in development cannot be gainsaid. In fact, the 300 largest cooperatives generate in excess of $2.1 trillion in revenue. Cooperatives make a significant contribution to economies by addressing market bottlenecks and failures, empowering marginalised people, creating employment opportunities and supporting sustainable development.
The goal of sustainable development is to transform our world. It is a call to action to end poverty, inequality, protect our planet and ensure that everyone enjoys good health, justice and prosperity. Cooperatives provide a mechanism for catalysing progress towards sustainable development.
The global goal to achieve sustainable development is also reflected in Kenya’s Vision 2030 that aims to transform the country into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens within a clean and secure environment.
With Kenya’s over 14 million cooperative members, the cooperative movement has the necessary capacity to contribute to Kenya’s Vision 2030.
Economic outcomes
Previous research in Kenya, Peru, the Philippines and Poland show that workers and members of cooperatives attain higher social and economic outcomes than the national average. Even better, the economic status of women in cooperatives improves considerably as they often find more opportunities to benefit equally from investments that cooperatives make in members’ human capital. Further, women also benefit from capacity building opportunities, including education and training in key skills such as financial management.
From a broader viewpoint, creating the right environment for cooperative development helps communities to benefit and reap the benefits of sustainable development. A conducive cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystem includes the right policy and regulatory environment, the right fiscal management for cooperatives and building linkages across value chains.
Savings and investment
The government has taken key actions like initiating a revised cooperative development policy, a new Cooperative Bill, currently before parliament, and the development of a comprehensive cooperative transformation strategy aligned to the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda.
The Cooperative Bill recognises new areas for further development of cooperative activities, including savings and investment, worker, consumer and transport cooperatives.
The savings and investment cooperatives are expected to receive funds from members strictly for making common investment of the funds on behalf of the members or a section of the members while the worker cooperatives will organise workers and professionals to offer a specialised service or group of services.
Consumer and transport cooperatives will organise consumers to acquire consumer goods and services in bulk for sale to members at competitive costs and achieve economies of scale while transport cooperatives will organise members to operate public transport services and connected purposes. Expanding the range of cooperative enterprises will enhance and bolster channels for sustainable development.
Prof Nyamongo, a multiple award-winning anthropologist and Fulbright Scholar, is deputy vice-chancellor at The Cooperative University of Kenya. [email protected]. @Prof_IKNyamongo
