Maseru
As of 2024, over 3 million cooperatives worldwide had created job opportunities for 10 percent of the world’s population.
In June 2024, the United Nations therefore decided to celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives in 2025, theming the festivities “Cooperatives Build a Better World”.
In commemoration of this day, this week, the Department of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development hosted a two-day symposium in Maseru where it reminded cooperative members of the seven core values and principles that they should adhere to, among which are member economic participation, autonomy and independence and concern for communities.
In an interview with Lesotho Tribune, the Commissioner for Cooperative Development, Mokheseng Notsi, explained that the two-day forum is intended to have a representation of cooperatives from all 10 districts of Lesotho with the intention of arming members with more skills and knowledge to help them grow and gain sustainability.
“We will be looking into the key factors that have helped the existing cooperatives to continue running while also looking at the causes and contributing factors that led to others’ failure.”
Notsi added that coming together as cooperatives also presents a chance for them to help one another to stay motivated and true to the model of cooperatives.
The forum, in its deliberations, delved deep into breaking down some of these principles to help cooperatives grow in the communities they serve.
Mpitseng ‘Mateboho Khama, a lecturer at the Lesotho Cooperation College, hammered on the issue of the importance of having cooperatives promote and market their products and services.
She explained that in Lesotho, it is only the norm to use advertising models like newspapers, television, radio and vivid presence on social media outlets, advising on exploring marketing strategies such as direct exportation of products through intermediaries that cooperatives can look into while highlighting that it is equally important to consider forming international alliances while at it.
“In this way, cooperatives would penetrate the global market,” she said.
Khama said another strategy that can be used is performing good brand management; through pooled resources, cooperatives can hire professional staff for marketing and brand management.
According to her, these modes are not just make-believe stories but have worked in some regions of the African continent.
Khama said Kenya’s estimated 45 percent of the GDP has been said to be accounted for across all sectors, with approximately 30 percent of national savings and exports, thanks to cooperatives.
She said in Lesotho, cooperatives are dominated by women and the country can capitalise on this, not only to grow cooperative societies but also to introduce an emerging women empowerment model.
She made an example of women-led cooperatives in West Africa that contribute a value of $200 million annually, showing the power women possess when they are supported and the kind of change they can bring to a country’s economy, thereby urging Basotho women to stay determined and motivated in their business endeavours.
