Effect of Cooperative Societies on Poverty Alleviation in Rural Communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria (Published)
The study investigated the effect of co-operative societies on poverty alleviation in rural communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria. Three research questions and two hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives of the study. The study employed the descriptive research design, the instrument for data collection was questionnaire constructed for the study and calibrated with the 4-point Likert ordinal measurement and rating scale. The population of the study was 130 cooperative members purposively selected from three cooperative societies. The sample size used was 97 cooperative members using Krejcie and Morgan table. Adopting a judgmental sampling technique, 97 questionnaires was distributed and 78 copies of the questionnaires were completed and returned and used for this study which represents 80% response rate. Research hypotheses were tested using regression analysis. The finding revealed that cooperative credit significantly impacts poverty alleviation (β = 2.391, p < .001). This suggests that cooperative credit has a significant positive impact on poverty alleviation. Based on these findings, the study recommended that to promote cooperative development, governments, cooperative societies, educational institutions, NGOs, and private sector organizations should collaborate to increase awareness of cooperative credit services in rural areas through simplified application processes and financial management training among others.
Keywords: Cooperative Societies, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Rural Communities
Emergence of Cooperatives and the Future of the Social Enterprises Sector in Botswana (Published)
The concept of integrating social aims with profit-making is an emerging trend in the world today, especially in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis which shone the spotlight on the problems of pure profit maximisation. Social enterprise is at the very core of this new movement to integrate social aims with profits, taking root in an increasing number of circles. The Botswana situation is marked by social enterprise being almost non-existent as a concept in the general consciousness. In spite of this conceptual absence, it can be argued that the main ingredients of social enterprises have played a substantial role in the historic formation of the Botswana welfare state in the form of cooperatives. In the first period the workers’ and farmers’ cooperative movements were the most influential actors concerning improvement of livelihoods. As such, this paper will seek to understand the emergence of social enterprises globally and how Botswana as a country can increasingly apply the tool of social entrepreneurship to address a plethora of differing social issues, such as extreme poverty and unemployment, in ameliorating and improving the condition of the people.
Keywords: Botswana, Cooperatives, Poverty Alleviation, Social Enterprise