Cooperatives: advantages and challenges

The current situation of cooperatives in Morocco

A cooperative is a group of members who contribute equally to rights and obligations while respecting the principles of solidarity, cooperation and development.

Cooperatives in Morocco operate in a legal framework several decades ago (Law No. 24.83 and Law No. 112.12). This legal framework gave them evolution and a predominant role in the Moroccan sustainable development.

In addition to the ability of cooperatives to create jobs and improve the socio-economic conditions of its members and their families, cooperatives in Morocco have contributed, by far, to the empowerment of women. In fact, women - especially in rural areas - have found a way in this sector to generate income, to affirm their creative talents and to acquire their financial autonomy. Cooperatives constitute, therefore, a major support of the social economy in Morocco.

However, challenges in this area are to be met: informal work that constitutes unfair competition, inadequate internal management and poor marketing to products constitute a barrier that hinders the growth of cooperatives. For this, a good marketing mix strategy and a better diversification of the means of marketing are needed. E-commerce is one of the solutions proposed to let consumers know about cooperative’s products. The start-up RAKARIK works jointly with Moroccan cooperatives by offering its platform en.rakarik.com to market their products