Interventions in Ethiopia were targeted at the dairy sector, which was replete with dairy cooperatives and showed considerable productivity and job-creation potential. The support provided included cooperative training and the construction of a cooling facility managed by local authorities that benefits dairy cooperatives operating in the region. PROSPECTS also leveraged cooperative structures as a risk mitigation mechanism for commercial banks to serve refugee clients. To facilitate the opening of bank accounts for refugees who lacked forms of collateral and were unable to meet Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, the team helped form cooperatives, for which the commercial bank could then open group bank accounts. Read about a Somali refugee’s journey towards forming a women’s cooperative. 

In Jordan, a major focus was supporting the development of a National Cooperative Strategy and action plan led by the Jordan Cooperative Corporation (JCC) to revitalize the sector and address weaknesses. Legislative frameworks and institutions were strengthened to align with cooperative principles and it was suggested that the Jordanian nationality be removed as a criterion for cooperation membership and formation. With support of the ILO, Jordan adopted key amendments to Cooperative Law making it compliant with the international standards. PROSPECTS also built the JCC's capacity as a cooperative training institution using ILO tools, and developed and piloted new cooperative tools addressing occupational safety and health in agriculture, as well as child labour. It also helped JCC establish a Cooperative Electronic portal to streamline service delivery and improve data collection on cooperatives.  Find out more in Jordan case study. 

The programme anchored its cooperative support in Kenya’s Cooperative Transformation Strategy and the prioritization of cooperative development under the national Bottom-Up Transformation Agenda (BETA) – a vision for industrialized middle-income status by 2030. PROSPECTS supported further review of cooperative legislation and built capacities using COOP tools. The latter included training trainers from the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs, the State Department of Cooperatives and county governments. Using ILO COOP tools and consultative forums, it identified key transformation priorities, including governance, legal frameworks, productivity, digitalization and refugee inclusion. Although refugees were, in practice, already participating in cooperatives in Kenya, the fact that the Cooperative Transformation Strategy included a specific pillar on inclusion positively impacted the transformation of the cooperative sector in the country. The programme also contributed to the review of the Kenya Cooperatives Bill 2024 and related regulations, which was silent on the issue of refugee inclusion. Because refugees were not explicitly mentioned in the Bill, county governments questioned the legality of refugee run cooperatives. Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms were also operationalized within cooperatives, providing a complementary route to tribunals. Find out more about how PROSPECTS helped strengthen cooperatives to address decent-work deficits among host communities and refugees.

In the context of severe economic and political crises and non-operational public services, PROSPECTS supported the development of social and solidarity economy (SSE) initiatives at the local level. These were developed around an identified set of challenges regarding community-level assessments of the agriculture sector. Work included mapping existing cooperatives and assessing conditions for their expansion, though the absence of a specific category for social enterprises meant they often registered as NGOs. SSE initiatives were developed, with leadership from locally driven SSE steering committees, which helped SSE initiatives in their start-up phase. At the national level, PROSPECTS worked with the Director General of Cooperatives (DGCOOP) at the Ministry of Agriculture to modernize services. Findings from an institutional assessment set out recommendations for DGCOOP’s digital transformation, defining a pathway to validate cooperative data, and progressively digitize services in line with international good practices and standards. Support was given to enhance the existing cooperative Management Information System (MIS) and improve operational efficiency. Find out more about Lebanon's SSE entities here. 

The programme supported development of both the groundnut value chain and a strong culture of cooperatives among small-scale farmers and agricultural producers. When the programme had to change geographical areas from East Darfur and West Kordofan to Kassala and White Nile due to the outbreak of the civil war, it leveraged cooperative structures to enhance market access and productivity. Cooperative members benefited from training on market standards, product alignment and compliance requirements, allowing them to access markets with higher production standards. By focusing on the value addition cooperatives generate, the project built links between local producers and Sudan’s role as a major oilseed supplier in the region. Cooperative structures enabled the producers to access to markets, helping give visibility to producers and forge sales agreements domestically and abroad. Find out more about agro-cooperatives in Sudan.

PROSPECTS partnered with Ripple Effect (a UK-based charity that focuses on sustainable agriculture and business development for families in rural Africa) to support, strengthen and formalize farmer groups – including in their transition to cooperatives – along the soya-bean value chain. In Uganda, land rights were an issue for small-scale farmers, as the titles to land were often unclear and disputed in rural areas. Ripple Effect worked with local authorities to negotiate access to 100 hectares of land and facilitated the introduction of a new seed variety via farmer groups. These two developments demonstrated the tangible benefits to collective farming, and, as a result, growers became more willing to register as producer associations. The groups of producers went through the Think.COOP and Start.COOP training. After participating, farmers groups also started to register as cooperatives with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. In addition, the benefits of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) were promoted within existing farmer groups and introduced to new groups. The soya-bean farmers who were organized into producer groups with Ripple Effect accessed a total of US$42,600 through their VSLAs, in the form of revolving loans.