Oikocredit, one of the world’s largest sources of private funding to microfinance sector, partnered with CIDAMI for the implementation of their incubator project aimed at putting value to cacao producer groups by accelerating business development, mitigating and managing risks and helping maximize growth and development potential and developing financing partnership with Oikocredit. CIDAMI identified the participating cooperatives which all have cacao enterprise/ business. CIDAMI also serves as the training coordinator and implementing partner for this project.
This Capacity- Building project includes four (4) trainings: Organizational Development and Management Training/Workshop, Upgrading Finance Management Training/ Workshop, Enterprise Development and Planning Training/ Workshop, and Training in Marketing. The participating cooperatives/ associations are: Subasta Integrated Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative (SIFMPC), Federation of Cooperatives (FEDCO), Biao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (BARBCO), Rehoboth Association, Panipasan Multipurpose Cooperative, Mati Davao Oriental Upland MPC (MADOUMPCO), and Salaysay Upland Farmers Association (SUFA).
The first training conducted was the Organizational Development and Management Training/ Workshop which was a 3-day training and was held on-site for better contextualization during assessment and planning. This training was conducted from October to November 2016, based on the availability of the cooperatives/ associations. Participants of this training were BOD members, cooperative managers, and other key cooperative officers. Through this training, key cooperative officers had better understanding about the cacao value chain and were able to identify risks along the value chain as well as risks to proposed or planned business. Strategies to manage these risks were collectively identified by the participants with the guidance and recommendations from the trainings facilitators. This training also helped in understanding better the roles of the cooperative members and how important their tasks are for the development and strengthening of their cooperative.
Aside from the value chain risk analysis, a review and/or revision of each cooperative’s Vision, Mission, and Goal was done during the Organizational Development and Management Training/ Workshop. Action planning (3 to 5-year Development Plans) based on the cooperative’s goals and objectives was also done during the aforementioned training which further clarified the expected results as well as the responsibility for the implementation of activities. A mentoring session per participating cooperative was done within the month of December 2016 to further guide each cooperative in meeting their development goals. Facilitators of the Organizational and Management Training/Workshop are experts from the We Assist Consultancy Services for Development Inc. which is based in Davao City.
The second training, Upgrading Finance Management Training/Workshop, was conducted on November 7-9, 2016 at The Pinnacle Hotel, Davao City. This training was participated in by nineteen (19) participants who are either BOD members, manager, treasurer, auditor, bookkeeper, or accounting clerk of each participating cooperatives/ associations. Two representatives of the OPTIMA Management Development Center, Co., served as the resource persons and facilitators of this training.
Knowledge on how to prepare Budgeted Statement of Financial Condition, Budget Statement of Operations, Statement of Changes in Member’s Equity, and Statement of Cash Flows per cooperative was enhanced through the Upgrading Finance Management Training/Workshop. An action planning per cooperative was also done to identify possible interventions for financial management problems identified by the participating cooperatives. Main concerns raised during this training were the lack of policies on financial matters and lack of documentation of such policies which is important to guide cooperatives in their finance management as well as in their operations. Further, lessons learned from existing finance management system were identified. As a result, strategies on finance management implemented or adopted by the more advanced cooperatives were shared. Suggestions from the competent resource persons/ facilitators were also well-accepted by the participants.
The third training, Enterprise Development and Planning Training and the Training on Marketing, will be conducted within the first quarter of 2017.
Financial Management Training
Organizational Development Training
