Charles Ocici
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Cooperative societies can become a practical training ground for grooming local entrepreneurs and transforming small survival businesses into competitive enterprises, according to Enterprise Uganda Director General Charles Ocici.
Ocici says cooperatives, if properly managed, offer members more than a platform for collective marketing. They can nurture entrepreneurial skills, strengthen financial discipline and prepare members to compete in modern markets through value addition and sound business practices.
Speaking on the role of cooperatives in Uganda’s economic transformation, Ocici noted that many cooperatives have already demonstrated their potential by venturing beyond primary production into processing and value addition.
“Cooperative societies can help entrepreneurs move from small survival businesses to sustainable competitive enterprises because some of them are already into value addition,” he said.
“We have cooperatives processing agricultural products, others are adding value to coffee and several other commodities. These are practical examples of how cooperatives can become business incubation centres for entrepreneurs.”
Cooperative model relevant
According to Ocici, the cooperative model remains relevant because it brings together individuals with a common economic purpose under a structured and legally recognized institution.
“We have had the concept of cooperatives where members of society come together and decide to form a group and register as a cooperative through the Ministry responsible for cooperatives,” he explained.
However, he emphasized that successful cooperatives are built on much more than registration.
“These individuals are run with leadership that tells them that to be a member of the cooperative, you must be able to produce a particular solution. That is a requirement,” he said.
Ocici explained that productive membership is one of the fundamental principles that distinguishes successful cooperatives from ordinary associations.
“You do not simply become a member because you exist. A cooperative expects every member to contribute economically by producing something that strengthens the institution.”
Beyond production, Ocici said cooperatives also provide an opportunity for members to improve their financial management skills.
Financial discipline lacking
“You must build your financial literacy skills. Members save together and lend to each other. That financial discipline is one of the foundations that helps entrepreneurs grow sustainable businesses.”
He added that cooperatives also create opportunities for members to access better markets while encouraging consistency in production and quality.
Despite their enormous potential, Ocici acknowledged that many cooperatives have struggled because of weak governance structures.
“There is no leadership, there is no governance, there is no way you can talk about a cooperative. You will simply be talking about a group of individuals,” he said.
“A group of individuals without leadership and structures can never deliver the benefits of a cooperative.”
He identified poor governance as one of the biggest obstacles preventing cooperatives from achieving long-term success.
Governance and leadership important
“One of the things that cooperatives have struggled with is governance and leadership. They must have the ability to select leaders on merit. A leader serves their term and releases that space to the next person.”
Ocici said successful cooperatives must also establish rules that apply equally to every member.
“They must come up with rules that every member obeys. It is not an everyday arrangement where people simply get in and get out whenever they wish. That is not how successful cooperatives operate.”
Enterprise Uganda, he said, is ready to partner with cooperatives to strengthen both their institutional capacity and the business skills of their members.
“When it comes to cooperatives, Enterprise Uganda can intervene on two platforms,” Ocici explained.
“First, we educate cooperatives on the principles of governance and leadership. That is key. If you don’t have governance and leadership, longevity and sustainability will always be tested.”
The second intervention, he said, focuses on strengthening individual entrepreneurs within the cooperative.
“The members of a cooperative must be business operators. You do not just walk in and say, ‘I am James Odongo’ or ‘I am Philip Nsubuga,’ and because you are a human being, you qualify to belong to a cooperative. Never.”
Meeting market demands
Ocici said every member must demonstrate the ability to produce quality goods and services that meet market demands.
“What are you producing? Are you obeying quality standards? Are you competitive? Those are the questions every cooperative member must answer.”
He stressed that the overall performance of any cooperative depends on the quality of its members.
“A cooperative is only as weak or as strong as its members. If the members are not properly groomed in business, that cooperative is only a name and it is going nowhere.”
Ocici believes that by combining strong governance, entrepreneurial training, financial literacy and value addition, cooperatives can evolve into practical business academies that prepare Ugandans to build resilient enterprises.
He said such institutions have the potential to create thousands of competitive local entrepreneurs capable of producing quality goods, accessing larger markets and contributing meaningfully to Uganda’s economic transformation.
