Ethiopia’s cooperative sector raised its capital base by 56.6pc to 21.74 billion Br during the 2018 fiscal year, according to the Ethiopian Cooperative Commission’s annual performance report. The sector strengthened 53,313 cooperatives, an increase of 36.9pc from the previous year. It also established 7,805 primary cooperatives and added 3.76 million members, representing a 20.3pc rise from 2024/25. The gains followed efforts to modernise cooperatives through organisational reforms, improved monitoring and capacity-building. The sector deployed 144 consultants across 70 cooperative unions to support the reforms. However, progress lagged in assessments, registration and workforce development. Only 39pc of planned cooperative assessments were completed, while registration and renewal services reached 15,875 cooperatives. Professional recruitment also fell short, with 7,555 professionals hired against a target of 24,395. The report identifies improvements in data management, registration and union participation as necessary to sustain the sector’s growth.

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