The ICA was invited to participate in the Intra Africa Trade Fair in Egypt in November 2023 to help stakeholders in the rapidly emerging fashion sector in Africa understand the potential of cooperatives, in particular the benefits of establishing a Pan African Fashion Cooperative which would mutualise the abilities and ambitions of the stakeholders in the sector.
The International Trade Center (ITC) and the ICA have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2024 to conduct a feasibility study and explore the possibilities, jurisdictions and potential of such a cooperative in the coming years. With our recent efforts to create a model law for cooperatives in the African Union, this opportunity to contribute to the creation of a pan-African cooperative and maximising the benefits of ACFTA for cooperatives, is timely.
The ICA's Director of Legislation, Santosh Kumar, attended the meeting and gave a presentation on the possibilities of creating trans-national cooperatives, legal solutions regarding cooperatively organised governance structures and using the platform economy to make the idea a reality.
Photo: Santosh Kumar at the Creative Africa nexus event at the IATF 2023 in Cairo, Egypt
