Creating Perspectives Together – Join Cooperative Development Cooperation
Cooperatives enable economic development and social participation for broad segments of the population. Through the projects of the Cooperative Foundation for Development Cooperation – GESTE, we support cooperatives in many countries worldwide, making an important contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Many cooperatives and their members in Baden-Württemberg have already supported GESTE. Help us spread our cooperative idea around the world!
Inside GESTE
- GESTE goes Germany: The opening of GESTE for active participation by cooperatives outside Baden-Württemberg is nearing completion. Managing directors of federal and regional associations informed themselves about the foundation's activities at their meeting on January 24 at BVR in Berlin and signaled interest in collaboration.
- Three GESTE working groups with the VR banks Am Württemberg, Bruchsal-Bretten, Main-Tauber, and Rottweil are working intensively on new products and offerings for cooperative banks to actively participate in GESTE's international projects. For this purpose, topics such as employer attractiveness, sustainability reporting, participation opportunities, and project reports are being prepared for target groups, along with the creation of a landing page for members and customers on their websites.
- GESTE celebrates: GESTE is looking forward to the double anniversary celebrations of ten years of foundation work and 50 years of the GENO-Haus on May 23 in Stuttgart. In +11, GESTE will report on the numerous projects and new participation opportunities.
GESTE worldwide
- Kick-off of new projects with student cooperatives in Argentina and young members of the Kipkelion Cooperative in Kenya: GESTE's two new projects have started with kick-off meetings, and implementation of activities is moving forward locally. The sale of Kipkelion Cooperative coffee through TukTuks is expected to start soon.
- Gemüsering meets mango cooperative in Cambodia: A corporate customer of Volksbank am Württemberg and project partner of GESTE explored potentials for collaboration in a video conference. A cooperation could open up market opportunities for partners here in Germany and provide partners in Cambodia with needed expertise and financial support in building export-capable production.
GESTE Abroad and at Home
Kenya is the driving economic force in East Africa and also plays an important security-policy role in the region. The Kenyan government has so far not succeeded in harnessing the country's economic potential in a socially just and economically sustainable way. More than a third of the population lives in extreme poverty, and youth unemployment is high. Widespread corruption and deficits in governance rank among the country's major challenges. At the same time, high national debt, also resulting from the Corona crisis, limits the government's capacity to act. Inflation and rising food and fertilizer prices are exacerbating the poverty situation.
Kenya is severely affected by the consequences of climate change; the extreme drought in the Horn of Africa is causing a dramatic food situation in parts of the country: up to 4.3 million people in Kenya are acutely affected by hunger. In the current Human Development Index (HDI), Kenya ranks 152 out of 191 listed countries.
Development cooperation: The overarching goal of German engagement is to bring youth into employment. The focus of German-Kenyan cooperation lies in the areas of agriculture, sustainable economic development, and renewable energies. The DGRV has been supporting the development of cooperative structures in this area for nearly ten years. GESTE is committed to implementing start-ups with young coffee farmers. (Source: www.bmz.de)
The umbrella organization coordinates the international activities of the cooperative organization and, with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports the establishment and strengthening of cooperative systems in more than 25 countries across three continents. In doing so, the DGRV not only makes an important contribution to implementing Germany's and the United Nations' development policy goals. The cooperative legal form is also gaining increasing significance through these international partnerships when addressing questions about the design of forward-looking economic and social systems as well as appropriate regulatory frameworks.
