Building Capacities in Cooperatives

19 May 2015, San Jose, Costa Rica – In the first week of May, CIFAL-Atlanta, in collaboration with the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University (KSU), CENECOOP, Fundepos University, Cooperative of the Americas (COOP), Confederation of Cooperatives of the Caribbean, Central America and South America (CCC-CA), and the Ministry of Labor of the government of Costa Rica, held a three-day conference in San Jose, Costa Rica on cooperative competitiveness and the digital economy.

There were a total of 74 participants and presenters representing 17 cooperatives, 4 universities, 3 financial institutions, 6 cooperative associations/NGOS, and 2 government agencies from 12 Latin American countries, the USA, and France. 52 high-ranked leaders were among those in attendance.

Through the use of multiple panel sessions and presentations, the conference focused on the improvement of management and leadership capabilities of cooperatives in the Americas in order to better prepare them in addressing the economic challenges in an increasingly competitive and global marketplace. In addition, the conference examined the importance of fostering a digital ecosystem that would allow independent cooperatives to take advantage of economies of scale, provide better service to its members, and implement more efficient and coherent transactional, marketing, financing and capitalization activities.

Participants left the conference familiar with an economic development model specific to cooperatives, including the skills necessary for implementing professional managerial training programs in the face of competition from globalization, accessing and developing internal and external capital markets, transitioning to a digital economy, rethinking the regulatory and legislative framework, and integrating with academia, society, and government agencies.

Photo: Participants of the conference