Have you ever purchased a product from a cooperative business? Chances are you have, although you may not have been aware.
Cooperative businesses are owned and run by their members — either employees, customers, or the local community as a whole. These members divide all profits earned by the organization and have an equal say in how it is run.
Many people tend to think that the cooperative structure is most commonly used in niche industries such as farmer’s markets or beer brewers.
However, cooperatives exist all across the world in a variety of industries and scales. In addition, research has shown cooperatives to be a successful method of promoting inclusive development and eradicating poverty in countries of all income levels.
The issue of extreme poverty is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 414 million people still lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2015, according to Cooperatives Europe.
The United Nations and other development-oriented organizations have stressed that in order to successfully end extreme poverty in Africa and globally, solutions must promote self-help and country-owned development.
As members of both the private sector and civil society, cooperative businesses are uniquely positioned to promote inclusive, sustainable development that benefits the entire community.
Cooperatives can act as vehicles for promoting values such as democratic decision making, youth and women’s empowerment, practical education, cooperation across firms as well as civil awareness and participation.
Starting in 2013, the Cooperatives Europe Development Policy program has worked with the African Region of the International Cooperative Alliance to promote cooperative enterprises as a vehicle for development across the continent.
In its last report on cooperatives and community development, Cooperatives Europe highlighted several case studies across the continent in order to represent how the cooperative model might be further utilized in promoting inclusive development in Africa and worldwide.
One example provided is the Rise and Shine Student Cooperative (RSSC) in the kingdom of Lesotho. The RSSC is a savings and credit union organized by the students and teachers of Mohales Hoek High School and provides interest-free loans for students who need money for school fees and uniforms.
Rather than profiting from the loans themselves, the cooperative generates capital through fundraising activities like dance parties at the school itself. The cooperative has been such a success that the students are now planning to expand by constructing a chicken coop at the school so that students can learn about livestock cultivation and generate income.
Another example is the Eudafano Women’s Cooperative in Namibia. In Namibia, 80 percent of cooperative members are women. The EWC was originally formed by workers harvesting Marula fruits, traditionally a woman’s job. In 1999, women in this industry formed the EWC in order to create the necessary infrastructure to sell their harvest to the international market.
Today, the EWC has grown to represent four associations of producers totaling 1,300 employees as well as a factory that processes their products prior to international export in order to command higher prices and ensure that members are paid a living wage.
For both of the examples listed above, the cooperative structure has allowed their members to not only form a viable and sustainable business, but also to contribute to development goals in their communities through their operation.
By educating entrepreneurs and their communities about the cooperative enterprise structure and by supporting efforts to create new cooperative businesses, stakeholders such as the United States can promote sustainable, inclusive, and democratic development in Africa and elsewhere.
– Hayden Smith
Photo: South African LED Network
Sharon Njavika Starts a New Social Enterprise
She would have to travel to the next town over to get her hair chemically straightened and recalls becoming frustrated with the constant upkeep of her looks, which she believed were necessary in order to fit in with her surrounding culture.
Njavika told How We Made it in Africa, “one time my friend was doing my hair and I got a bad wound from the chemical relaxer. It was a big flesh wound, and the experience was traumatic.” After this incident, Njavika ditched the chemicals and started looking for a more natural way to manage her hair.
As an HCD (Health, Community and Development) graduate, Njavika utilized her practice of health and well-being to create her own social enterprise, AJANI handmade. Journalist Banke Falade recognizes that AJANI handmade markets natural hair products specifically for black hair as well as general natural hair care.
Njavika writes, “The business model is grounded in perpetuating messages and images of worth, beauty, agency and capacity by and for African women. Through participating in and facilitating conversations online and otherwise, we aim to address the sometimes ignored, often dynamic, social narratives that affect young African women.”
Njavika’s business is based in Kenya, where a growing number of women are embracing the natural look.
However, Njavika social enterprise faces some challenges, such as limited access to financing, raw materials and high quality packing materials. The young entrepreneur also keeps a full-time job in order to cover her personal expenses and fund the growing business.
An African blog writer commented, “she has such a passion and drive for this new company that I can only see it developing, growing and thriving in the months and years to come. I think the aspect that most caught my attention is the fact that AJANI Handmade is much more than just selling beauty/care products. They focus on self-love, confidence, well-being and supporting black women.”
Njavika focuses on perpetuating messages of beauty and self-worth, demonstrating the principles that drive her social enterprise, AJANI handmade.
– Megan Hadley
Eastern Congo Initiative: Eradicating Poverty
Conflict in the region has resulted in the displacement of a nearly 3 million and a death toll of around 5.4 million. In addition, the prolonged fight for power between competing militias has perpetuated a cycle of violence, poverty and disease for more than 20 years.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, despite a promising growth rate of nine percent between 2014 and 2015, political and social instability has led to Congolese citizens surviving on “less than $200 a year—barely half of what they did in 1970.”
In order to help improve living conditions, ECI has invested in the Eastern Congo’s potential for redevelopment, gaining the attention of influential voices within eastern Congo and around the world. The organization uses “targeted methods to communicate directly to select individuals who can help shape policies and action in the government, academic and private sectors”.
Field research and direct polling conducted by ECI addresses the lack of verifiable information that previously discouraged many lawmakers and members of the private sector in the U.S. and Europe from becoming Congo advocates.
The United States, in particular, has stepped up its efforts to provide assistance in the DRC, actively working with the African and European Unions to broker regional peace agreements and becoming the largest financial contributor to the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
In 2011, in partnership with USAID, the Eastern Congo Initiative provided an in-depth analysis of community-based organizations throughout the DRC. This report allowed policy makers and investors to gain insight into the potential of sustainable growth in the DRC, opening the possibilities of increased funding and investment.
In addition, ECI has given grants to 23 Congolese organizations to support their efforts in improving economic development, education, access to justice and family health.
One organization, Children’s Voice, serves the needs of “young people living in extreme poverty, including orphans, former child soldiers and sex slaves”.
By providing primary schooling, vocational training and mental health assistance to approximately 600 children per year in the cities of Goma and Magunga, Children’s Voice is taking a critical step to break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness at an early stage.
Another organization, Dynamique de Femmes Juriste (DFJ) provides legal services to women who have faced rights abuses, from sexual violence to inheritance violations. In addition to advocating for laws that strengthen women’s participation in politics, DFJ trains paralegals in rural areas to process complaints in their respective communities.
The group also encourages female community leaders to run for office in local elections to encourage better female representation in the government.
According to the Eastern Congo Initiative’s website, in 2014, “DFJ prosecuted more than 200 cases in court, with a 37 percent success rate.” For a country whose justice system is incredibly weak, this is nothing short of a promising and remarkable achievement.
– Taylor Resteghini
Photo: Flickr
Mobile Schools in Mongolia: Expanding Enrollment
Since 2010, Mongolia has experienced a substantial and significant increase in the enrollment of kindergarten aged children, largely due to mobile schools through which thousands of nomadic children are given access to an early education.
Large strides have been made in Mongolia over the past decades to make a successful shift from a planned economy to a market democracy. However, despite this progress, the World Bank reported in 2008 that 35 percent of the population still lived below the poverty line.
The Mongolian Government and various humanitarian organizations addressed this issue by developing a number of resolutions to improve the living situations of the population. Many of these initiatives have been focused on educational development.
One such program is the Early Childhood Education Project of 2012 which aims to provide all young children with access to education. The components of this project are confronted with a unique cultural challenge. Mongolia is the least densely populated country on earth with roughly 1.7 people per square kilometer. A large portion of this population is nomadic and during the summer months, they reside in an area for only 2-3 weeks. Under these dispersed and fluid conditions, the young children of these nomadic families would never be able to attend a typical kindergarten.
In order to accommodate this common nomadic lifestyle, “mobile ger kindergartens” were developed. UNICEF Mongolia and Save the Children UK piloted these mobile schools in Mongolia in 1994, but their development accelerated when the Mongolian government and other organizations stepped in to assist with funding.
Tsendsuren Tumee, UNICEF Mongolia’s Early Childhood Development Officer, has reported, “Since 2012 more than 2600 children have attended ger kindergartens in Khuvsgul province . . . this year we established 10 more ger-kindergartens in the area with the help of the Government of Monaco providing nearly 280 children aged 2-5 with early childhood education programs and services. Access to early childhood has helped many children to develop to their full potential and perform better at schools.”
In addition to their benefits to young students, these mobile schools in Mongolia are cheaper to operate than their stationary counterparts throughout the country. They also assist the parents of these children by allowing them to spend more time with their herds, thus elevating their productivity.
In the report by UNICEF Mongolia, a mother named Jargal expressed the beneficial influence that these schools have for her family personally: “Summer is busy time for herders. We need to work extra hard in preparation for the cold winter ahead. Knowing that our son is safe at the kindergarten, learning new things and making friends, we feel so happy and do our work without any concern.”
The World Bank has reported that the overall trajectory of this project is a positive one. With it, young children will be better prepared for higher levels of education and their parents will be enabled to produce more. In addition, there will be decreased pressure on the government and other humanitarian participants.
The World Bank opines that more mobile ger kindergartens are needed to service the nomadic community which accounts for 40 percent of the total population. However, many are optimistic about the progress that has been made. The Asian Development Bank commented, “Reforms, streamlining, and repairs – mixed with ample optimism and dedication – are propelling Mongolia’s education system toward achieving its goal of education for all.”
– Preston Rust
Photo: UNICEF
Mulago Foundation Funds Anti-Poverty Organizations
In order to qualify for funding, the organizations must be equipped with scalable solutions and demonstrate the ability to deliver, reflecting Mulago as a successful foundation that continues to improve the lives of the impoverished.
Henry Arnhold created the Mulago Foundation to carry out his brother’s life work, Rainer Arnhold, after his death in 1993. Rainer Arnhold was an inveterate traveler as well as a physician and philanthropist committed to improving the well-being of vulnerable individuals.
His philosophy has been carried throughout each of Mulago’s endeavors. The foundation is entirely funded by the Arnhold family and seeks no return on investments from the organizations it supports.
The Mulago Foundation has assisted organizations like the BOMA Project, located primarily in Northern Kenya. BOMA focuses on assisting impoverished women living in low-productivity lands that are isolated from the modern economy.
By funding this organization, Mulago and BOMA have worked to double the incomes of women in this area, helping them to build their resiliency against the economic issues that accompany droughts and poverty. The hope is that these successes will continue and increase drastically in the coming years.
The main focus of Mulago is impact. The Mulago Foundation succeeds in its mission to greatly impact impoverished citizens around the world by seeking out organizations with the similar missions.
While the Foundation would like to support all organizations trying to make a difference, the funding is meant for those who have well-defined plans for the future. Impact must be real and clearly measurable. By supporting successful organizations, Mulago is able to further the impact that they have on fighting poverty.
One Acre Funds is an organization in Eastern Africa that has received funding from Mulago and the impact it has reached is certainly measurable. This organization provides significantly poor farmers with the training, materials and access to markets that they need to create a sustainable living.
In less than five years, One Acre Funds went from zero farmers to 30,000. That is the type of impact that the Mulago Foundation seeks from the organizations it supports. One Acre Funds now functions like a high-performance business thanks to Mulago’s assistance.
– Amanda Panella
Photo: Flickr
The Recovery of Mogadishu
The once beautiful city, filled with wide boulevards and Italianate colonial architecture had become divided among rival warlords. Government-built schools and hospitals became prime targets for looters bent on destroying all remaining vestiges of Siad Barre’s 22-year rule. For a long period of time, chaos and crime thrived in one of Africa’s most cherished cities.
However, when the militants were pulled out of the city in 2011, the reconstruction of Mogadishu began. According to the New York Times, the hammering sound of machine guns has now been replaced with the sound of construction demonstrating that the recovery of Mogadishu is well underway. New hospitals, homes, shops, hotels and bars are being built and life has emerged from the once decrepit city.
BBC acknowledges a wave of reconstruction, which is being led by Somali expats who have come back to invest in their homeland. Foreign investors are also providing capital toward the recovery of Mogadishu.
Mohamed Yusuf, director of Madina Hospital told How We Made it in Africa that the city is like “a patient who was in a deep coma, and then suddenly he moves his fingers and opens his eyes. Now he is moving his limbs and unfolding his legs.”
Consequently, the outside world has noticed. In a recent survey of the world’s fastest-growing cities with a population of at least 1 million, the U.S.-based consulting firm Demographia ranked Mogadishu second on the list. Demographia estimated Mogadishu’s annual growth rate at 6.9 percent, due to the return of Somalis who have come home to explore investment opportunities following improvements in the city.
In Mogadishu, the central business district is once again a beehive of commercial activity. Somali singers just held their first concert in more than two decades at the National Theater, which formerly served as a weapons depot and a national lavatory.
Mogadishu has a bright and thriving future in the context of culture, enterprise and new markets.
– Megan Hadley
Photo: Flickr
Health Officials: Continued Vigilance on Ebola Crisis
However, in a statement made earlier this year, the WHO declared that the “likelihood of international spread is low.” As of January 6, 2016, the number of Ebola outbreaks since 2013 totaled 28,637. In addition, there have been eight cases of Ebola between February and March.
According to the New York Times, on April 6, officials from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department announced the reallocation of its $510 million Ebola budget towards combatting the Zika virus.
The government, however, is far from declaring the Ebola outbreak over and the two deadly viruses are non-competing. Of note, the Obama Administration’s 2014 Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) was a response to crippled infrastructure in countries impacted by health crises.
In promotion of the WHO’s International Health Regulations and other global health security frameworks, “the GHSA serves to stimulate investment in the needed capacity – infrastructure, equipment, and above all skilled personnel – and empowers countries, international organizations and civil society to work together to achieve focused goals.”
This entails a U.S. commitment to the eradication of the ebola crisis, mitigation of recurring outbreaks and partnerships with affected countries for infrastructure enhancement.
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine compares the diagnoses and treatment techniques of the Ebola and Zika viruses.
In explaining the improved sharing mechanisms and response techniques, Dr. Charlotte Huang writes, “Many lessons learned from the response to the recent Ebola outbreak have helped in the response to the ZIKV outbreak. Most important, there is general agreement on the need for international collaboration on regulatory issues, research, and data sharing.”
Nahid Bhadelia, an infection disease physician at Boston Medical Center has also noted the importance of “[having] continued vigilance in West Africa,” due to likely flare ups and the potential transmission by the 17,000 Ebola survivors who still might have the virus.
— Nora Harless
Photo: Flickr
Aziz Sancar Creates Girls in STEM Project
Aziz Sancar is one of the three recipients of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Currently, he serves as a professor of biochemistry and physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
Though he has been teaching and researching at UNC since 1982, Sancar’s education began in his native Turkey. He grew up in a large family in a predominantly Kurdish region of Turkey.
His early life taught him that education for women and men in Turkey was not equal, particularly in the Kurdish areas of Turkey, where girls often married at the age of 13. In an interview with Yahoo, Sancar noted that education for girls was not emphasized as a priority.
Even as a whole, the Turkish nation seems to give less attention to girls’ education. UNC Global states that, per the World Economic Forum’s most recent Global Gender Gap Report, the illiteracy rate is 1.9 for males in Turkey, but 9.4 for women.
Sancar told UNC Global, “As someone from rural Turkey, I understand the power of education. I know what it has done in my life. I want all girls in Turkey and around the world to have the same opportunity I had.”
To this end, Sancar recently launched a program in cooperation with the Harriet Fulbright Institute called Girls in STEM Project. The initiative is designed to increase female students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
UNC Global shared that the project would span seven Turkish cities and host a series of three-day conferences, with both Turkish students and Syrian refugee students participating.
The project’s website details that 700 girls in 6th grade will participate, at no cost, by registering online. The first 100 girls to register in each city involved will be accepted.
Sancar told UNC Global, “We hope this is a beginning,” Aziz Sancar said. “We want to close the gender gap in education and in the workforce in Turkey, and this is one way we can encourage that to begin, to inspire girls to get involved in STEM.”
– Katherine Hamblen
Photo: Wikimedia
Poverty Reduction: World Bank Climate Change Action Plan
In fact, the group notes that without action, “climate change could push more than 100 million additional people back into poverty by 2030”.
The World Bank’s newest report on its Climate Change Action Plan clarifies that environmental crisis affects everyone in the world, but strikes hardest on the poor.
For example, natural disasters completely destroy the means of survival for agricultural communities – the report estimates that the world could lose up 5 percent of its crop yields by 2030. Of note, heat waves, droughts and river floods are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude with global warming.
In addition, families that spend a large portion of their budget on food cannot adapt to resulting fluctuations of food price. With the lack of quick and specific governmental support, these damages also lead to long term conditions. Ongoing efforts to eradicate poverty may even be compromised due to families who fall back into poverty due to a number of factors including climate change.
Global warming also creates an environment for more diseases to thrive, including malaria and diarrhea. The World Bank notes that a 2-3 °C increase in temperature could increase exposure to malaria by five percent and diarrhea by up to 10 percent. Children under five are the most vulnerable to such sickness, which threatens the health and survival of future generations.
The fact that some effects of climate change can actually benefit small farmers, complicates the issue of estimating the actual damage. However, based on research conducted in 92 countries, the group notes that the overall damage outweighs the benefit as it falls upon the majority of people in the long-term.
Following last year’s Paris Climate Agreement involving 195 states, The Guardian reports that the World Bank will allocate 28 percent of its budget in assisting developing nations to meet greenhouse gas emission standards and develop more sustainable energy solutions. The International Financial Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank will mobilize an additional $13 billion to environment technology related projects in the private sector.
John Roome, senior director for climate change at the World Bank, told journalists including The Guardian, “This is a fundamental shift for the World Bank. We are putting climate change into our DNA. Climate change will drive 100 million more people into poverty in the next 15 years [unless action is taken].”
The World Bank’s climate change action plan emphasizes that environmentally friendly policy and economic development are not mutually exclusive, setting the example of Climate-Smart Agriculture. Access to better technology and more resilient breeds of crops can protect even small farmers against sudden changes.
– Haena Chu
Cooperatives: Poverty Relief & Inclusive Development
Cooperative businesses are owned and run by their members — either employees, customers, or the local community as a whole. These members divide all profits earned by the organization and have an equal say in how it is run.
Many people tend to think that the cooperative structure is most commonly used in niche industries such as farmer’s markets or beer brewers.
However, cooperatives exist all across the world in a variety of industries and scales. In addition, research has shown cooperatives to be a successful method of promoting inclusive development and eradicating poverty in countries of all income levels.
The issue of extreme poverty is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 414 million people still lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2015, according to Cooperatives Europe.
The United Nations and other development-oriented organizations have stressed that in order to successfully end extreme poverty in Africa and globally, solutions must promote self-help and country-owned development.
As members of both the private sector and civil society, cooperative businesses are uniquely positioned to promote inclusive, sustainable development that benefits the entire community.
Cooperatives can act as vehicles for promoting values such as democratic decision making, youth and women’s empowerment, practical education, cooperation across firms as well as civil awareness and participation.
Starting in 2013, the Cooperatives Europe Development Policy program has worked with the African Region of the International Cooperative Alliance to promote cooperative enterprises as a vehicle for development across the continent.
In its last report on cooperatives and community development, Cooperatives Europe highlighted several case studies across the continent in order to represent how the cooperative model might be further utilized in promoting inclusive development in Africa and worldwide.
One example provided is the Rise and Shine Student Cooperative (RSSC) in the kingdom of Lesotho. The RSSC is a savings and credit union organized by the students and teachers of Mohales Hoek High School and provides interest-free loans for students who need money for school fees and uniforms.
Rather than profiting from the loans themselves, the cooperative generates capital through fundraising activities like dance parties at the school itself. The cooperative has been such a success that the students are now planning to expand by constructing a chicken coop at the school so that students can learn about livestock cultivation and generate income.
Another example is the Eudafano Women’s Cooperative in Namibia. In Namibia, 80 percent of cooperative members are women. The EWC was originally formed by workers harvesting Marula fruits, traditionally a woman’s job. In 1999, women in this industry formed the EWC in order to create the necessary infrastructure to sell their harvest to the international market.
Today, the EWC has grown to represent four associations of producers totaling 1,300 employees as well as a factory that processes their products prior to international export in order to command higher prices and ensure that members are paid a living wage.
For both of the examples listed above, the cooperative structure has allowed their members to not only form a viable and sustainable business, but also to contribute to development goals in their communities through their operation.
By educating entrepreneurs and their communities about the cooperative enterprise structure and by supporting efforts to create new cooperative businesses, stakeholders such as the United States can promote sustainable, inclusive, and democratic development in Africa and elsewhere.
– Hayden Smith
Photo: South African LED Network
Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes in Africa
In Africa, sweet potatoes are proving to be invaluable in the fight against malnutrition. According to a publication by HarvestPlus, the Vitamin A rich Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) was introduced in 2007 to 24,000 farming families in Mozambique and Uganda. The program was presented by HarvestPlus and its partners, specifically targeting women and children who suffer most from vitamin A deficiency.
African farmers are no strangers to sweet potatoes, but they have always grown the paler varieties: yellow and white, which lack beta carotene and other nutrients, while the OFSP does not. The OFSP is a crop that has gone under biofortification.
According to a HarvestPlus research brief, “Biofortification is the process of breeding staple food crops that have a higher micronutrient content.” This process can be carried out conventionally or through genetic engineering. “All crops being released by HarvestPlus and collaborators are conventionally bred.” The seeds and vines of the OFSP can be shared.
Since the sweet potato was already a staple in the diet of Africans, introducing the OFSP was a deliberate strategy to cater to the existing market. In Mozambique and Uganda, the effort succeeded in raising Vitamin A levels by an appreciable margin in women and children.
The sweet potato requires less work than the other staple crops of cassava, wheat and rice, according to the International Potato Center (CIP). It tolerates poor growing conditions better than the other crops and produces better yields with more edible energy per hectare. The sweet potato has previously been grown in small plots but the CIP sees this changing as the OFSP grows in popularity and importance.
USAID, with the support of Feed the Future has introduced the OFSP into Ghana. They hope to eventually reach 300,000 households with women of reproductive age and children under the age of five.
Feed the Future works directly with the government of Ghana to target the poorest households to give them access to the Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato. Feed the Future wrote a Multi-Year Strategy for Ghana (2011-15) to outline its goals, including improved nutrition, especially of women and children, and improved agricultural production in Northern Ghana, especially for small farm holders.
– Rhonda Marrone
Photo: Flickr