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Report: Cooperative Performance Index – Field Results and Analysis
Published 04/08/2013 by Global Communities
Report: Cooperative Performance Index – Field Results and Analysis of Cooperatives in Rwanda
USAID – Enabling Market Integration through Rural Group Empowerment (EMIRGE)
By Theogene Nkuranga, EMIRGE Program Coordinator, Rwanda and
Kristin Wilcox, EMIRGE Technical Officer
January 2013
Introduction
Cooperatives are democratic, member-run and member-financed enterprises. They have been a model for bringing together people across all spheres of society in common economic and social interests. In Rwanda, cooperatives comprise nearly 2.5 million members grouped into approximately 5,000 active cooperative entities. These cooperatives are regulated by Rwanda law n° 50/2007 of 18/09/2007 determining the establishment, organization and functioning of cooperative organizations.
Most commonly found in Rwanda in the agricultural sector, cooperatives are providing significant results in the production of tea, coffee, rice, maize, Irish potatoes, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and fish but also seeing gains in other sectors such as finance S ACCOs (savings and credit cooperatives), mining and transportation (motorcycles and minibuses) as well. Since 2010, CHF International Rwanda has been working with producer groups and associations of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and families living with Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) assisting these groups to become formal cooperatives and building capacity in the areas of governance, management and business development in order to increase household incomes and strengthen overall family resiliency.
To track performance among those cooperatives the USAID Enabling Market Integration through Rural Group Empowerment (EMIRGE) program, in partnership with the USAID/Higa Ubeho Economic Strengthening team, developed a tool called the Cooperative Performance Index (CPI) and supported the assessment of each of the eighty five cooperatives in the USAID/Higa Ubeho program and the EMIRGE program portfolios.
Read the full report here.