Co-operatives United, a global trade fair set in Manchester, UK, was hosted to mark the official closure of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives. This unique global festival was organized by the International Co-operative Alliance along with The Co-operative Group, which is a British consumer co-operative.
ICA EXPO is an international event and a professional fair that chiefly aims at promoting the products and services from the entire co-operative sector. Right from agricultural products to consumer goods and services of significant benefits and commercial advantages were showcased in this event. The main objective of this program was to promote the growth and development of co-operatives and expand inter-co-operative trade. This program also focused on providing new business prospects, strengthening and networking of business contacts, thereby catering increased exposure for the entire co-operative sector.
Over 10,000 people from all over the world gathered in the Manchester Central, UK, which was full to capacity, for witnessing the packed program consisting of fun-filled and inspiring workshops, exhibitions and films. This event was not only exquisite but also highly informative, wherein it gave an idea on how much of a contributor the co-operative movement is in the global economy. This magical event also showcased the scope and growth of the co-operative sector with respect to the global economy.
GoCoop, with the objective of promoting co-operatives globally through an online platform, is extremely glad to have participated in this prestigious event. At the GoCoop booth A3, GoCoop showcased exquisite handlooms and handicrafts from Cooperatives in India, including the following:
• Federation of Tibetan Co-operatives in India; tibetan.gocoop.com
• Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society Ltd., APCO; apco.gocoop.com
• Molakalmuru Town Silk Handloom Weavers Production and Sales Co-op Society; vanjreramesh.gocoop.com
• Khadi and Gramodyoga Sahakari Utpadak Sangha Ltd; hudli.gocoop.com
Over 2000 visitors visited the stall and shared their trade enquiries for the Cooperative products. There was strong appreciation and great interest from the Coop leaders for the services offered by the GoCoop platform. Over 30 cooperatives from 18 countries registered for the GoCoop platform and many more registrations are expected to arrive online through GoCoop.com. Countries that registered with GoCoop include, UK, Singapore, Namibia, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Romania, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Nepal, Uganda, Timor, Turkey, Mauritius, Malaysia, Malaysia and Zambia.
Our session on “e-Marketing strategies for Cooperatives” and demo of GoCoop.com conducted by Siva Devireddy, Managing Director, GoCoop was very well received by the participants at the ICAEXPO. GoCoop also received request for proposals from Co-ops across multiple countries including UK, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
ICAEXPO featured the pride of Indian cooperative movement IFFCO, which represents over 40,000 farmer Cooperatives in India and is the world’s largest producer of fertilizer. National Cooperative Union of India, which has been in the service of Cooperative in India since 1929, was represented by its leaders including Sri Chandra Singh Yadav, President, Sri Amin, Vice-President and Dr. Dinesh Mishra, Chief Executive. Several other leading coops from India including IFFDC, Consumer Cooperative Federation and APCOB also participated in this prestigious event. IFFDC, working with hundreds of tribal coops and SHGs in India, was keen to explore the benefits of our platform for their coops and SHGs.
Worldwide market exposure for the co-operative segment, global platform for showcasing the co-operative products, building new contacts and enrolling of the co-operatives into new partnerships were some of the major outcomes of this event that made this event a great success.
Overall, this was a very successful event for GoCoop and the project received very strong appreciation from the entire co-operative sector present at this prestigious event.
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