Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa has met leaders of the Zimbabwe National Cooperative Federation (ZNCF) to discuss measures aimed at strengthening the country’s cooperative movement.
Mutsvangwa hosted a luncheon recently, with a ZNCF delegation led by its president, Mike Duru, and representatives from the fisheries, manufacturing, housing and agriculture sectors, as well as NACSCUZ.
The engagement focused on translating resolutions adopted at the inaugural Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives Indaba into practical programmes that could benefit cooperatives across Zimbabwe.
Discussions covered access to affordable finance, formal markets, technology, skills training and business-development support.
The participants also considered governance, accountability and capacity-building as important requirements for cooperatives seeking to attract investment, access financing and establish sustainable businesses.
Cooperatives have traditionally provided members with opportunities to combine resources, improve their negotiating power and participate in economic activities that may be difficult to pursue individually.
However, limited access to capital, modern technology, viable markets and appropriate business support remains a major challenge for many cooperatives.
The meeting considered ways of positioning cooperatives as sustainable economic enterprises capable of contributing to employment creation, poverty reduction, industrialisation and inclusive economic growth.
Mutsvangwa reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for the sector and said adequately supported cooperatives could create sustainable livelihoods for their members.
The Ministry linked its support for cooperatives to the Government’s Vision 2030 development agenda.
While the meeting identified key areas requiring intervention, no specific funding allocations, programme timelines or measurable implementation targets were announced.
The effectiveness of the proposed measures will therefore depend on the development and implementation of clearly funded programmes capable of addressing the practical challenges raised by cooperative representatives.
