Cooperation That Works: From Berlin to Southern Africa

From Vision to Reality: Cooperation Among Cooperatives in Action

During the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 cooperation among cooperatives had been celebrated and promoted in various ways. In fact, cooperation with partner organisations in many countries of the Global South is the very focus of DGRV’s international work. Cooperative systems play a vital role in strengthening communities, creating economic opportunities, and enabling people to organise themselves in a sustainable and democratic way. Strong cooperative structures contribute to social cohesion, economic resilience, and long-term development. It is within this broader setting that DGRV’s international cooperation seeks to translate cooperative principles into practical, people-centred solutions.

Only recently, in November 2025, we as DGRV had the opportunity to experience international cooperation among cooperatives in practice through a multi-stakeholder exchange in Southern Africa.

From Berlin to Eswatini: Turning Dialogue into Practice

A delegation comprising representatives of DGRV (Jan Holthaus, CEO), the GESTE Foundation (Steffen Müller, CEO) and BVR (Dr. Jan Böttcher, Head of Policy Affairs & Government Relations; Marc Weegen, Head of Brand Management & Communication) visited the Kingdom of Eswatini. There, the delegation engaged with cooperative stakeholders and relevant government institutions, including high-level political representatives, to exchange perspectives on strengthening cooperative financial and organisational structures.

These discussions built on earlier exchanges, including a visit by a high-level Eswatini delegation to Berlin in 2022. The intensive exchanges demonstrate how long-term dialogue and trust-based cooperation can evolve into concrete joint initiatives. The visit highlighted the value of hands-on engagement by the German cooperative sector in supporting locally driven cooperative development processes.

As Jan Holthaus put it:

“Cooperation is not an abstract idea; it is the lived experience of working together.”

Growing Beyond Projects: Sustainable Cooperative Impact

The delegation continued its exchange in South Africa, where it gained insights into cooperative-related initiatives that have successfully evolved beyond their initial project phase. A visit to the second branch of the Baking and Food Incubator South Africa (BICSA) illustrated how cooperative-inspired approaches can grow into independently financed, nationwide centres of excellence, demonstrating the long-term potential of cooperative systems when ownership, professionalism and sustainability come together.

Beyond technical and strategic exchanges, the visit underlined that cooperation is ultimately driven by people. The close interaction between international and local partners as well as our dedicated DGRV-project team, demonstrated how shared values, mutual trust and professional commitment turn cooperative principles into tangible impact.

With lot’s of motivation from the IYC2025, our cooperation will continue!