Managers reveal why some cooperatives fail #rwanda #RwOT

This was reiterated on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, at the start of a 4-day Seminar for the leaders of 80 cooperatives operating across the country.

The seminar was organized by Land O 'Lakes Venture 37 in collaboration with the Rwanda Cooperatives Association (NCCR), the National Institute of Cooperatives, RCA, and Rwanda Institute for Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship and Microfinance, RICEM where this seminar is taking a place.

The leaders of the participating cooperatives shared the necessary knowledge in leading their cooperatives in order to benefit a lot from their careers.

It is a seminar provided by experts from Rwanda and international industry.

Participants emphasized that the courses provided in this seminar provide confidence in gaining advanced knowledge, especially in the areas of good leadership and sustainable management.

Eric MBANZABUGABO, head of the Vegetable and Fruit Cooperative in Nyabihu District, said that the seminar has benefited him a lot, including the impact of management.

'What I will benefit from this training is be a good and fair leader, Knowing that the leader is not permanent and by the time my mandate is over, I will have to handle the leadership to the other member in a right way. The other thing is to know that everyone has to show their contribution so that even when you are no longer a member of that cooperative the rest will have something to remember about you. ' he said

Germain NDAYISABA , head of the KOIRU GANZA Cooperative for Maize and Bean Farmers in Kabarore and Gitoki Sectors in the Eastern Province, said they had been taught important lessons that would help them meet good governance.

'We have been trained on the good governance of cooperatives and its management. In our cooperative, we used to work in disorder because we didn't have the skills, but because we were given the knowledge, we will go back and change the way we managed our cooperatives. ' he said

Odette Hagenimana, the Deputy Chairperson of the Forum of Wheat and Maize Cooperatives in Nyaruguru, Nyamagabe and Huye Districts, said that the development of the members was based on non-negotiable levels.

Prof. Harelimana Jean Bosco, Director General of the National Institute of Cooperatives, thanked Land O'Lakes as one of the key partners in the development of cooperatives and the establishment of large investment institutions.

Participants were reminded that having autonomy for all decision and disregard for the interests of the members is one of the delays in the cooperatives, and they were asked to walk away from it for a better and sustainable future of their cooperatives.

Land O'Lakes ventures37 is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) -based agency that focuses on improving the business performance of local cooperatives and strengthening Rwandan organizations through capacity building and self-reliance programs as well as new activities.

This seminar is being done through a Land O'Lakes ventures37 CD4 project that is for cooperative development activity.