The African continent is undergoing a major economic and social transformation. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) promising freer movement of goods and services, and with growing demand for inclusive economic models, cooperatives stand at the forefront of a new African economy — one rooted in shared prosperity, mutual support, and self-determination.

For the South African cooperative movement, this is a defining moment. Unlike large corporations driven primarily by profit, cooperatives are built on solidarity, social upliftment, and community ownership — principles that resonate powerfully across Africa’s post-colonial context. South Africa’s co-ops can leverage these shared values and historical ties to build strong partnerships with African counterparts, expanding trade, creating jobs, and positioning themselves as uniquely trustworthy and culturally aligned economic actors.

1. Africa’s Cooperative Renaissance: A New Kind of Market

Across Africa, cooperatives are becoming more prominent in sectors like agriculture, retail, housing, transport, and finance. According to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Africa, there are:

• Over 500,000 cooperatives across the continent, with more than 100 million members.

• A combined economic output in the billions, particularly in agriculture, where co-ops dominate production in many countries.

This growing movement offers ready-made channels of trust and trade that are less accessible to traditional South African businesses, which often struggle with cultural fit or perceptions of dominance.

2. Shared Ethos: Ubuntu, Empowerment, and Liberation Legacies

Cooperatives speak the language of ubuntu — a concept deeply rooted across Southern and Eastern Africa. They represent collective empowerment, democratic participation, and economic justice — all core to Africa’s liberation narrative.

For South African co-ops, many of which were born out of apartheid resistance and black economic exclusion, this connection runs deep. The shared legacy of colonialism and struggle for black economic empowerment gives South African cooperatives a moral and emotional edge in African markets:

• Where corporate entities are seen as extractive, co-ops can present themselves as fellow travellers on the same path of development and justice.

• This positioning can make African markets more receptive to South African cooperative products, especially in agriculture, health, construction, education, and community finance.

3. Strategic Advantage: Co-op-to-Co-op Trade as a Competitive Edge

South African cooperatives can unlock exclusive trade pathways through inter-cooperative partnerships:

• A South African agricultural co-op can partner with a Kenyan or Nigerian consumer co-op to distribute its products in bulk.

• A South African housing co-op can jointly develop low-cost housing with an Ethiopian construction cooperative.

• A South African worker cooperative in manufacturing can collaborate with SADC transport co-ops to handle logistics across borders.

These co-op-to-co-op channels lower the cost of market entry, build loyalty, and allow both parties to co-create value, unlike traditional top-down corporate trade. The result? Deeper penetration, better margins, and community-level endorsement.

4. Policy Momentum: Leveraging the AU and AfCFTA

The African Union recognises cooperatives as engines of inclusive growth. Several frameworks — including the AU’s Agenda 2063 and AfCFTA protocols — explicitly support small businesses and cooperative enterprises. South African co-ops can leverage:

• Preferential trade treatment under AfCFTA for co-op goods, especially those classified as community-based or women-led.

• Cross-border cooperative financing with credit unions and SACCOs (Savings and Credit Co-operative Organizations) across East and West Africa.

• Access to joint marketing platforms, cooperative fairs, and procurement under the African Union Co-operative Development Strategy.

5. Practical Steps for South African Cooperatives

To capitalise on this opportunity, the South African cooperative movement should:

1. Form a Pan-African Cooperative Trade Desk to identify co-op partners in agriculture, consumer goods, housing, and finance across Africa.

2. Develop a Cooperative Export Programme through the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) that trains and funds co-ops to participate in intra-African trade.

3. Engage the ICA Africa and regional bodies like the East Africa Co-operative Society and West Africa’s Network of Agricultural Co-ops.

4. Invest in storytelling that positions South African cooperatives as liberation-born enterprises, aligned with the aspirations of other African communities.

6. A Moral and Economic Case

Beyond business, this is about healing and partnership. The African cooperative movement is a continent-wide response to economic exclusion, and South African co-ops are uniquely positioned to extend not just trade, but solidarity, training, and empowerment.

Where big corporates seek profit, cooperatives offer participation. Where global businesses bring debt, cooperatives share equity. Where outsiders lack trust, African cooperatives build it from the inside.

Conclusion: It’s Africa’s Time — and the Co-ops’ Too

Africa is open for business — but not just any business. The continent is seeking partners who understand its struggles, respect its people, and offer solutions that empower, not exploit. The South African cooperative movement is one of the few sectors that can truly meet this call.

By uniting with African cooperatives and trading not just goods, but values, South Africa’s co-ops can become the most welcomed, trusted, and enduring business partners on the continent. In doing so, they will not only grow exports — they will help build an African economy that belongs to its people.

Call to Action

It’s time for the South African cooperative movement to take its place in the Pan-African economy — not as guests, but as brothers and sisters building together. Let us rise together, in trade and in trust.