Start.COOP - a participatory tool for launching a cooperative

Start.COOP has been developed as a low-cost, easy to use training tool for those interested in starting and launching a cooperative in a participatory manner. It draws on technical content from existing materials in different ILO cooperative training tools and peer-to-peer, activity based learning methodology from the ILO’s Community-Based Enterprise Development (C-BED) programme.

Instructional material | 10 January 2018
Start.COOP is a training tool that walks participants through the process of starting and launching a cooperative in a participatory and efficient manner. Throughout the four Modules of Start.COOP, participants will be playing the role of potential owner-members or the core group who will be leading the set-up of the cooperative. Module 1 helps participants in identifying the right people to join in the formation of the cooperative. They will then learn how to identify opportunities for collective action through an analysis of the common problems or opportunities faced by the group. At the end of this module, it is expected that participants would have defined their business idea for the feasibility assessment that will be undertaken in Module 2.

In Module 2 participants will learn how to assess whether their business idea is feasible by doing a feasibility study. A feasibility study involves the gathering and analysing of information to find out if the business idea is good or not. The study will help participants determine if the proposed business idea is something that they can implement based on resources they can access and whether they can be competitive in the market. It also helps participants to further explore whether the proposed business will address the common problem faced by the potential owner-members. At the end of this Module, it is expected that participants will know whether their business idea is feasible for the preparation of the business plan that will be undertaken in Module 3.

In Module 3 participants will work on the preparation of a basic business plan aimed at providing guidance on how to run the cooperative during the early stages of its operations. It walks participants through the different parts of the business plan such as the drafting of a business profile, the definition of a marketing strategy, as well as the operations and management plans. The module ends with an overview of the main elements of the executive summary of a business plan. At the end of this Module, it is expected that participants would have drafted their business plan in order to identify the needs in terms of human resources that will be undertaken in Module 4.

Module 4 provides guidance on the organizational set-up of a cooperative. Participants will learn about how the cooperative should be structured and governed to effectively implement the business plan. It describes the main roles and responsibilities of the main bodies of the cooperative and assists participants in the drafting of the rules and regulations needed to ensure good management of the affairs of the cooperative and its members. At the end of this Module, it is expected that participants will have identified the needs in terms of human resources and the organizational structure of their cooperative.