Coopec-Uno is off and running!

The adventure of Coopec-Uno in Goma (Democratic Republic of Congo), inaugurated on April 1st, begins with these words, pronounced by the President: “Today is a great day, this cooperative is our field of action, it is our little world united in the midst of the great disaster in which we live. It is not easy to imagine an initiative of this type in a context as complex as that of the city of Goma and its surroundings”. The city has a population of almost two million inhabitants and approximately 500 thousand displaced persons. Since the end of 2022, in fact, the activism of armed groups and the military operations conducted to counter them have caused an impressive number of internally displaced persons: seven million throughout the country. Coopec-Uno “is a small light in the darkness around us , and demonstrates our strength and our determination to always move forward”, concluded the President in her inauguration speech. The path to get here started a long time ago: in 2022 a first constitutive general assembly was held, in July 2023 the 58 founding members set the amount of the basic capital ($51,330). With the support of AMU, all participants receive basic training in operation, administration and risk management and are professionally supported in starting income-generating activities. In February 2024, COOPEC-UNO members found a headquarters in Goma, where they settled and furnished it by purchasing furniture and equipment with the support of AMU. The cooperative has been active since early April. It is an important goal, a real success, but it is just another step forward towards the development that this group of people wants to achieve.