ADDIS ABABA – The Federal Cooperative Agency announced that the 6th National Cooperatives’ Exhibition, Bazaar and Symposium will be held from February 7 to 13 under the theme “Cooperative Marketing for Fairness,’ at Addis Ababa Exhibition Center.
Senior Public Relations Expert at the Agency Daniel Abebe told The Ethiopian Herald that the major aim of the event is to solidify the marketing networking among the cooperatives and showcase how cooperative enterprises build sustainable societies through cooperation in innovative and inclusive ways.
Cooperatives in Ethiopia are referred as poverty eradicating and GDP boosting tools. They are supporting the government and the society in solving different economic, social, cultural and environmental problems. Due to this, the incumbent government has been giving due emphasis to the development of the sector.
As result, the number of cooperatives are increasing significantly, Daniel further elaborated. Cooperatives in Ethiopia have more than half a century experience, building sustainable and resilient societies. They are an important and efficient instrument to fight poverty”, said the Director General of the Agency, Usman Surur. “Our cooperatives should be commended for their exemplary contributions in nation-building and community development as they are drivers of growth in their respective communities.” added the Director General.
Today, over 20 million individual members have been engaging in different types of cooperatives, accounting 75 percent of the population, are directly enlisted in every stratum of cooperatives across the country. As to him, currently, there are 85,496 primary cooperatives, 388 cooperative unions, and 3 cooperatives’ federations with nearly 20 million members and a total capital of Birr 22 Billion.
And the cooperative sector has created employment opportunities for more than 1.5 people on permanent and temporary basis Mentioning that marketing is one of the major challenges of cooperatives Usman said that such strategic promotion can be one way of tackling the challenge.
The event will be used as a guideline to expand market opportunities for cooperatives in the local and international market sphere. 250 cooperatives drawn from all over the country are expected to exhibit and sell their products and services.
Agricultural products including teff, coffee, honey and agricultural inputs and machineries will be exhibited by innovators and suppliers. The symposium will serve as an opportunity to share international and national experiences, best practices and achievements amongst cooperatives.
The Ethiopian Herald January 30/ 2019
BY TEWODROS KASSA
