With increased penetration of technologies, cooperatives need to adopt digital technologies and computerisation in a big way to attract youth as members of cooperatives and reaching out to marginalised and needy people, said Brian Branch, president and chief executive officer of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU).
“Cooperatives have been playing a vital role in various sectors of the economy. But, to enrol new members aged between 18 and 35, cooperatives must provide digital services,” Mr. Branch told The Hindu , on the sidelines of a talk on the role of cooperatives across the globe, organised by the Karnataka Souharda Cooperative Ltd. here on Thursday.
Many e-commerce firms have been providing online services to the doorsteps of people.
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To enrol the younger generation, cooperatives must provide financial services for construction of housing and purchase of consumer durables in the digital form. “Regulation, technological disruptions, and membership” are major challenges of cooperatives in the context of increased competition from banks in the globalised economy, he said.
Visiting India for the first time after becoming president of the WOCCU in 2011, Mr. Branch said addressing challenges on the technological front should be the priority of the cooperative sector.
WOCCU has set a target to digitise the financial services of its member cooperative unions by 2025. Head-quartered in Madison, the U.S., WOCCU is the leading international body of of credit unions representing 75,000 credit unions in 90 countries that serve 260 million people. Indian and Chinese cooperative federations have not yet become members of the WOCCU.
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Cooperatives can help in increasing farmer’s income and eliminating poverty, he said. “Only cooperatives, mutual banks and community-based institutions are catering to the marginalised sections of the people,” Mr. Branch said.
Noting India’s role in the cooperative sector, the economist said, “Every one in three persons in the U.S. is a member of the cooperative union. This is a gift India gave to the United States.”
Earlier, Bengaluru-based Gnanashale Souharda Cooperative Ltd. president Sridhar N. Rao made a presentation on creating micro entrepreneurs in 55 villages of Karnataka.
He said the society has plans to empower 10 lakh women by 2022 through micro-financing.