Cooperatives as a Tool for Poverty Reduction and Promoting Business in Tanzania 

Cooperatives as a Tool for Poverty Reduction and Promoting Business in Tanzania

Policy Brief

Finland’s development policy and development cooperation aim, among other things, to support inclusive green economy that promotes employment. The poor people in developing countries should not only be seen as employees or customers but also as active partners, innovators, producers, networkers and other actors. Inclusive, “pro-poor” business activities can create employment, contribute to income generation as well as make inexpensive quality products and services easily accessible and available at the “Base of the Pyramid” (BoP).

Inclusive business can take many forms, including new types of innovation, services, products, distribution/logistical solutions, business models and partnerships. Cooperative is one form of inclusive business that benefits poor and easily marginalized people. Cooperatives produce services for their members and advance social benefits with the means of for-profit business.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs has commissioned this research from the research group from the University of Helsinki, Department of Economics and Management. The overall aim of the report is to provide an analysis on the cooperative business model in Tanzania and give policy recommendations for Finland in order to promote inclusive people-centred business for poverty reduction. The approach is to find concrete examples of genuine, business-driven for-profit cooperatives, inclusive of poor members and contributing to poverty reduction. This report also identifies the particular features that characterize such cooperatives.

The language of the report is English. The opinions and conclusions which appear in the report are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the position of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.