Cooperatives Capacity Assessment (Amhara and Sidama Regions) Validation Workshop

The project had conducted a Cooperatives Capacity Assessment in Amhara and Sidama Regions to identify the needs and capacities of cooperative enterprises and similar self-help organizations with a focus on project target sectors-fruits and vegetables, poultry and edible oils.

The assessment identified key capacity gaps that cooperatives and similar self-help groups struggle with in terms of providing services to their members and ensure profitability of their business. Besides the cooperatives and self-help groups, limitations and capacity gaps of the support organisations directly working and supporting them on a regular basis through monitoring, technical support, facilitation of linkages with government and other stakeholders and others were also identified in the study.

The project organized a validation workshop on 3 August 2021 to share the results and findings from the Cooperative Capacity Assessment to obtain feedback and inputs before finalizing the report and to prioritize the adoption of some key recommendations for the project moving forward. A total of 22 participants attended the workshop from different spectrums including tripartite constituents of the ILO - representatives from Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU)and Confederation of Ethiopian Employers Federations (CEEF), Federal Cooperatives Agency, and Regional Cooperatives Agencies (Amhara and Sidama Regional States), and Universities.