Cooperative enterprises are a powerful mechanism for driving economic growth and social mobility. Since 2018, Land O’Lakes Venture37 has implemented the USAID-funded Cooperative Development Activity 4 (CD4) to strengthen the enabling environment for cooperative organizations in Rwanda and Malawi. CD4 provides tailored support to apex organizations to strengthen their business performance and self-reliance, enabling them to become a more powerful force for long-term sustainable development. CD4 also transitioned the established cooperative learning platform to local ownership, driving both local and international research on the Rwandan and Malawian cooperative sectors. In 2019, Venture37 engaged TANGO International to conduct a qualitative baseline assessment for the project, including aggregating concerns from local actors on the broader topic of cooperative development. These concerns resulted in a priority list of questions – the learning agenda – to be answered through various research protocols and assessments. This report will highlight the key findings and recommendations for each question in the learning agenda. 

Venture37 extends its gratitude to TANGO International, the research teams, and the international advisors and teams in Malawi and Rwanda for their contributions to this learning agenda. We hope that this learning agenda can inform and improve cooperative development efforts to achieve global sustainability goals.

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