In Kenya, cooperatives play a pivotal role in the nation’s development. The cooperative sector is the strongest in Africa, controlling approximately 43% of the country’s GDP. These cooperative societies not only create jobs for over 300,000 individuals but also offer self-employment opportunities to many more. Currently, there are around 15,000 registered cooperatives with a combined membership of approximately 12 million. However, these cooperatives face several challenges that hinder their sustainability and limit their potential for growth. These challenges include difficulties in finding markets for their products, financial support, governance issues, and a lack of opportunities for capacity building.
One of the critical pillars of the three-pronged approach of the USAID Strategic Partnership Program is strengthening cooperatives and business associations under the Agency and Voice for the Private Sector (AVPS).
In a deliberate move to strengthen cooperatives, AVPS has been at the forefront of creating awareness in its target counties. Hence, several workshops have been conducted to enhance the understanding of the dynamics of multiple cooperatives and business associations, fostering mutually beneficial collaboration.
Over 500 participants from Kisumu, Kilifi, Kakamega, and Busia counties attended these workshops. They included representatives from the Cooperatives County Departments, the State Department of Cooperatives at the national level, NGOs dedicated to promoting cooperative activities, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (which includes local associations), and representation from the Executive Office of the President, specifically the Presidential Economic Transformational Secretariat (PETS).
In Kisumu, the boda-boda sector highlighted the existence of 35,000 registered riders, many of whom are literate, including graduates, teachers, and doctors. They noted a common challenge faced by all cooperatives, which is the difficulty of distinguishing between boda-boda riders who are part of a cooperative and those who are not. Additionally, they emphasized the need to instill a culture of saving among the boda-boda riders.
In Kakamega, most cooperatives in the agricultural sector pointed out challenges such as a lack of markets for their produce, high costs of inputs, particularly seeds and pesticides, and a lack of capacity to effectively govern the cooperatives.
Across the board, the cooperatives shared their milestones, lessons, and aspirations for being empowered to remain sustainable. They also expressed their expectations and enthusiasm to work with all partners for the cooperatives and business associations to thrive and ultimately improve their livelihoods.
Looking ahead, listening to the expectations, challenges, and opportunities articulated by the cooperatives and business associations has provided valuable insights into key areas for intervention. AVPS is committed to developing the institutional capacity of business associations to enhance their influence in public policy discussions and expand market access for their members. AVPS aims to transform the landscape for cooperatives and business associations.
About Agency and Voice of the Private Sector (AVPS)
The USAID Strategic Partnership is a 5-year program implemented by Strathmore University Business School (SBS) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program is implementing a three-pronged approach, namely: Kenya Small Business Development Centers (Kenya SBDC), Agency and Voice of the Private Sector (AVPS), and Transformational Resilience Programming (TRP).
The Agency and Voice of the Private Sector will invest in the institutional development of cooperatives at the National and County Levels to strengthen their agency and voice in public policy dialogue and expand market access to their membership. It will be achieved through:
- Institutional capacity building of cooperatives,
- Enabling cooperatives to access markets locally, regionally, and internationally
- Facilitating the cooperatives to participate in public-private dialogues.
AVPS’ counties of operations are Kisumu, Busia, Kakamega, Nakuru, Makueni, Isiolo, and Kilifi.
Article by Jane Daniel Mumo
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