Nigeria is getting ready to host its annual National Cooperative Awards and Symposium, to be held virtually and in-person in Lagos on 19-21 November.
The event is organised by the Cooperative Rating and Award Society of Nigeria (CRASON) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the federal department of co-operatives.
The awards celebrate co-operative leadership and good governance while the symposium brings together policymakers, co-operative leaders, regulatory bodies, professionals, researchers, students, and the wider public to explore the latest co-op research and practices.
This year’s virtual symposium will feature a panel discussion and a Q&A session on 19 November. Participants will hear from Trebor Scholz of the Platform Cooperative Consortium (PCC) at the New School in New York, USA, who will look at emerging platform disruptive technologies and innovations. Other panellists include Mohammed S. Bello, CEO, Cooperative & Labour Education Research Center (CLERC) of Lagos; Atama Emmanuel JP – president of Abuja Cooperative Federation Ltd; Segun Adaju – CEO, Consistent Energy and president, Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria; Ugochukwu Aronu, founder and CEO Xend Finance; CEO/co-Founder, grant master and CEO of Epower Group; and Tom Ivey, community development manager, DotCooperation UK (Domains.coop).
The discussion will touch on a range of topics, including co-operative standardisation, investment opportunities for co-ops, Blockchain technology, alternative sources of funding, and co-operative branding. Participants attending in person can join a networking event on 20 November, followed by the awards ceremony on 21 November. The ceremony will be attended by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, executive governor of Lagos State and Mohammad M. Abubakar, minister of agriculture & rural development.
According to CRASON, Nigeria is home to 300,000 co-operatives with a joint turnover of N1.2tn (£2.1bn) and 31 million members.
