The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) will end-off International Year of Co-operatives by hosting Co-operative Registration Workshops across the country during November and December 2012.
The workshops will create awareness about the co-operative business model and its benefits, facilitate the registration of co-operatives and communicate the NYDA’s support for aspiring and established co-operatives.
According to Siyabonga Mbambo, NYDA Rural Development Manager, co-operative registration forms will be available at the workshops in order to facilitate the registration of the co-operatives with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). “The NYDA will also cover the co-operative registration fees,” he explains.
The United Nations declared 2012 International Year of Co-operatives in order raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise organised and operated on co-operative principles. Co-operative principles include; voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, autonomy and independence and concern for community.
Besides the registration of co-operatives, the NYDA assists aspiring and established co-operatives with the following business support programmes and services:
- Co-operatives pre-incorporation training
- Gap analysis and needs assessment
- Technical and entrepreneurship development training
- Co-operative governance training
- Business development support services such as bookkeeping, marketing, tendering support, website development and more
- Facilitate regulatory compliance
- Facilitate access to markets and other business referrals
- Access to business loans, the NYDA offers a low business loan interest rate which currently stands at 6%
- Mentorship and post-investment support
Mbambo explains that some of the benefits of the co-operative model include creating wealth and generating sustainable, descent employment in massive scales; promoting the utilisation of local resources and its viability through continued member patronage and inherent trust created in the minds of the community. “The co-operative model can definitely play a key role in alleviating South Africa’s high unemployment rate which affects mostly young people, he concludes.
For media enquiries please contact:
Refilwe Mphane
Tel: 011 651 7175
Cell: 071 037 6559
E-mail: refilwe.mphane@nyda.gov.za
