SCC in Africa

SCC has been present in Africa almost since its inception in 1958. The driving force was a strong sense of solidarity towards the emerging cooperative organisations and their members in the new countries that were formed in the wake of the dismantling of the European colonies in Africa and Asia. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, assistance in the educational field dominated with focus on organising international seminars on leadership training. SCC also supported the establishment of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Regional Office in Africa 1968. To this day ICA continues to be a partner of SCC.

The support to Farmers Unions, which started in 1979 with Kenya National Farmers Union, was the first movement-to-movement project, with the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) deeply involved from the start. During the 1980’s, major agriculture programmes supporting national cooperative organisations were set up in Zambia and Uganda. As a result SCCs volume in Africa grew considerably. During the 1990’s, SCC increasingly focused on member based farmers’ organisations, cooperatives and in cooperative-like organisations.

Currently in Eastern and Southern Africa SCC is working in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, and in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Madagascar and Mocambique, with special emphasis in the following sectors a) Rural development, b) financial Services and c) Housing and Habitat. It is not the policy of SCC to implement project direct but to work with local partner organizations. In Eastern Africa, SCC works closely together with its sister organisation Vi Agroforestry. 

Klick here to read more in the regional strategy for Eastern and Southern Africa