Co-ops empower women

Rural women trained … The provincial government wants women to establish co-operatives in farming, manufacturing of clothes and shoes, and bakeries.

The year 2012 has been declared the International Year of Co-operatives by the United Nations. South Africa is heeding the call to invest in these cooperatives that seek to reduce poverty and create more job opportunities for people.

The Free State has mooted co-operatives as not only a way in which to address unemployment, but also a way in which women can lift their communities out the morass of poverty and unemployment.
The province is leading this initiative in the country.

According to a report issued to mark the launch of the International Year of Co-operatives, Global Business Ownership 2012, there are now three times more members of co-operatives than individual shareholders worldwide.
In Africa, one in 13 people is a member of a co-operative and there are six times as many co-operative owners as there are shareholders.

In the UK, where the world’s first co-operative enterprise started, 14.9 percent of the population has direct ownership of shares, compared with 21.1 percent who are owners or members of a
co-operative.

With the theme “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World”, the year seeks to encourage the growth and establishment of co-operatives all over the world. It also encourages individuals, communities, and governments to recognise the contribution of co-operatives in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

According to the Office of the Registrar of Co-operatives, a co-operative is an “autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their mutual economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise organised and operated on co-operative principles”.

This means a co-operative is a unique form of business that provides services and products to its members. Profits are divided among members in relation to the amount of the business each member contributed in the co-operative.
One of the thriving co-operatives in the province is Retswela Pele Bakery in Thabong, Welkom.

The initiative has benefitted from the R100 000 funding from the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).

The co-operative was established by 25 women who honed their baking skills to produce goods for sale to local families. But, after five years of not turning a profit, the women began to lose hope.

Only eight members remained who contributed R5 a month to bake cakes and sell them to the community.

Founder Anna Sikhosana explained that the women went door-to-door to sell their products. They eventually applied for funding from government.

With the money they bought stoves, fridges, and other tools to ensure they had the necessary equipment to continue with their business venture.

At first, the women used a member’s house to bake, but they later applied for land from their local municipality. In 2000, they moved their business into its own premises.

The women then applied for training from three companies – Vukasthathe, Thusanang, and Sasol – which provided training in catering, business,and baking.

“We learned more about budgeting, bookkeeping, how to handle slips, and how to manage the staff members in the co-operative.”

Sikhosana added that some of the challenges she faced included receiving funding and dealing with ill-disciplined people within the co-operative.

“The youth we employ in our co-operative sometimes leave without notification and some get better offers from other companies.”
There are now only three young people left in the co-operative.

Despite this, the co-operative has managed to grow. It turns a profit of R1 500 per week from which it pays the employees.

According to the director of corporative services in the Department of Trade and Industry, Elvis Kekana, the role of the department is to help communities establish co-operatives and also help existing co-operatives to expand their business.

Kekana said before the department can fund a co-operative, the applicant must have registered his/her business, have a tax certificate, a bank account, and a minimum of five members.

“It is also important for the people to have a place of business which stipulates the size of the land, the availability of water and electricity, and what is needed within the parameters of the land obtained.”

He said community members can form groups to harness their skills and money to form their own enterprises.

One of the thriving co-operatives in the province is Retswela Pele Bakery in Thabong, Welkom.

The MEC of Social Development, Sisi Ntombela together with Premier Ace Magashule, recently held a workshop on co-operatives for women in Bloemfontein.

However, the administrative hurdles can prove tough for some. In some rural areas, people are not proficient in English and this can hamper their tax registration and application for funding.
Some co-operatives in the province still struggle to secure funding and eventually close down due to lack of support.

Motlogelwa Nkitseng is one of the owners of Tsohang Manufacturing and Multipurpose Co-operative which has been struggling to get off the ground since its inception in 2008.

The business is run by three women and two men. It deals with waste management, bread making, brick making, and financial services.
However, none of the initiatives are operational due to financial problems.

Nkitseng and his partners have been contributing R50 a month to save money to establish the business, but do not have enough funds.

Premier Ace Magashule announced in his State of the Province Address that government will award cooperatives, especially those owned by women, work worth between one and four million rand.

The MEC of Social Development, Sisi Ntombela, recently held a workshop on co-operatives for women in Bloemfontein. She said more women co-operatives should be uplifted and established across the province.

“We know now there are already co-operatives in some regions, but we want to channel them, and have data about them. We are going to have a provisional structure, a regional structure of co-operatives, so that we find each and every woman in the different regions.”

The provincial government wants women to establish co-operatives in farming, manufacturing of clothes and shoes, and bakeries.

According to the NGO Pulse, co-operatives provide the potential for pooled resources to enhance economic clout despite limited resources.

“Their popularity lies in the fact that they provide individual members with a vehicle for collective economic action that can result in them acquiring substantial advantages when negotiating in the marketplace.

“A well-run co-operative can pool its production outputs and negotiate larger contracts and discounts for members. Also, a successful co-operative provides members with a sustainable, independent source of income. It should be noted that the co-operative model is also a popular format for the collective grouping of small businesses, which stand to benefit from the enhanced economies of scale.”

The president of the International Cooperative Alliance, Pauline Green, recently told the UN Assembly that co-operatives contribute directly to improving the standards of living of half the world’s population.

“Indeed, co-operatives had lifted millions out of poverty with dignity and had proven that such enterprises could compete effectively, and even thrive, in the marketplace with other forms of business.”