By Meshack Ngangi

Between the 25th and 30th of November 2024, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) held its Global Conference in New Delhi, India. The event launch, which was graced by the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Narendra Modi, the Hon. FCPA Wycliffe A. Oparanya, EGH, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development, and international dignitaries brought together over 3,000 cooperative movement enthusiasts from more than 100 countries worldwide.

Hosted by the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO), the conference was inaugurated under the theme, “Cooperatives Build Prosperity for All,” and it guided the discourses across four plenary sessions and accompanying parallel sessions, which aimed to create an Action Agenda for Cooperatives to accelerate the SDGs.

Among the delegates of this International Forum were our Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kamau Ngamau, PhD, EBS, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Finance, Planning, and Administration, Prof. Esther N. Gicheru (Mrs), OGW, who was a keynote speaker on Kenya Co-operative Movement: A Shared Prosperity at the launch of the Year of Cooperatives 2025.

In 2007, Prof. Gicheru was bestowed the highest honor of the ICA and is the only recipient of the Rochdale Pioneers Award in Africa. This is owed to her immense contribution to the cooperative movement in Kenya, Africa, and on the global stage. Debunking the topic, Prof. Gicheru highlighted that SACCOs are the most predominant, with over 50% of all 22,344 registered co-operatives, followed by agri-coops at about 27%. 

“Agricultural cooperatives remain the main anchor to Kenya’s economic growth, contributing 33% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and commands about 60% of informal employment and 60% of total exports. The downstream agro-processing is estimated to generate an additional 3.2% of GDP and 2.4% of employment,” explained Prof. Esther Gicheru.