Assessment of Cooperatives in the Poultry Industry - 2013.pdf - Seda

Research Report: Addressing the Needs, Opportunities and Challenges of Cooperatives
and Collectively Owned Enterprises in the Poultry and Related Industries
Table 4-1: Challenges Faced During Co-Operative Start-up
CHALLENGE
PERCENTAGE
INCIDENCE
CHALLENGE
PERCENTAGE
INCIDENCE
No basic start up equipment 17.2% Lack of business skills 5.4%
Finding money to start the
cooperative
15.1% Access to markets 4.3%
Lack of technical skills 10.8% Difficulty in managing the finances 4.3%
Difficulty in finding premises 9.7% Difficulty in registering with CIPRO 3.2%
Access to utilities 8.6%
Access to information and support
organisations
2.2%
Difficulty in compiling a business
plan
6.5% Other 12.9%
Source: Urban-Econ Survey, 2013
In one of the survey questions regarding current equipment needs, 79% of respondents stated that
their cooperatives do not have the appropriate equipment, tools and machinery to run the business;
27 out of 28 participants gave a lack of finances as the cause for their cooperative’s insufficient
equipment, tools and machinery.
Technical skills, location and access to water and
electricity also featured prominently as start-up
challenges. Access to information and support
organisations did not feature as a prominent start-up
challenge, with only two cooperatives mentioning this
problem. However, it should be noted that many of the
cooperatives interviewed were contacted through
existing support databases such as SEDA and the dti CIS,
and were therefore better informed than some of the other cooperatives regarding support
offerings.
As indicated in Table 4-1 above, business and financial skills, including access to markets and
legalities around registering the cooperative, each received 3-6% of responses. Many support
programmes offer assistance in these areas and many of the cooperatives surveyed have received
this type of support at some point during the lifespan of the cooperative as is illustrated in Section
4.1.2.5 Support and Challenges. Thus, there may have been a lack of understanding about the need
for business and financial management skills during the start of the cooperative, which has resulted
in this challenge being cited in hindsight by cooperatives. Many businesses may not have sought out
this type of assistance during start-up if they were not aware that it was a concern. Additionally, the
42 | P a g e U r b a n - E c o n : D e v e l o p m e n t E c o n o m i s t s
Lack of equipment
was identified by
cooperatives as
their biggest startup
challenge