The 2026 International Cooperative Alliance General Assembly and associated events, co-hosted with Cooperatives of the Americas, will take place in September in Panama – a country with a rich history of cooperation. Today Panama (population: 4.51 million) has 479 cooperatives serving 213,165 members.
While urban areas linked to canal trade experienced growth after it opened in 1914, many rural communities lacked access to credit, markets, and basic services. Cooperatives developed as a grassroots response, enabling farmers, workers, and public employees to pool resources and improve economic security.
Early agricultural cooperatives helped small producers collectively purchase inputs and negotiate better prices for crops such as coffee, rice, and dairy. Savings and credit cooperatives expanded access to financial services for teachers, civil servants, and low-income households excluded from commercial banking. And at the University of Panama, courses on cooperativism were given by German professors from the Center for Cooperative Studies of the Institute for Economic Social Studies
The country also has a strong focus on youth, with school cooperatives emerging in the mid-20th century as educational organisations managed by students under the guidance of teachers.
This growth was supported by the creation of Instituto Panameño Autónomo Cooperativo (IPACOOP) in 1980, which formalised regulation and promoted cooperative education. Today IPACOOP is one of two Panamanian members of the ICA (along with Cooperativa de Servicios Múltiples Profesionales, R.L.) and it continues to promote, register, and supervise cooperatives to foster economic and social development.
Throughout the country, cooperatives remain a vital tool for inclusive development, particularly in strengthening financial inclusion and community resilience in underserved regions.
We look forward to welcoming you to Panama in September!
Find out more about the ICA Global Conference and associated events here.
