The official launch of the Regional Federation of Women's Cooperatives, as well as the electronic platform for marketing local products from the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, took place on Thursday in Tangier.
This initiative is part of the "Wuluj" project, implemented by the Union of Feminist Action (UAF), in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with a view to strengthening the social and solidarity economy in the region.
The Federation aspires to intensify efforts and strengthen advocacy, in order to defend the interests of cooperatives more effectively, as well as to implement collective strategies to respond to common challenges faced by cooperatives, such as access to markets, promotion of local products, access to financing, and training.
It also aims to contribute actively to the economic empowerment of women, both in rural and urban areas, to the promotion of the social and solidarity economy in the region, and to the strengthening of cohesion and synergy between cooperatives, in order to make them a strategic lever for the development of communal projects, as well as for the implementation of public policies favorable to women's cooperatives.
Speaking on this occasion, the Secretary General of the UAF-Tangier section, Fathiya SaĂŻdi, emphasized that this event constitutes "a historic step in our common commitment to the economic and social empowerment of women and the development of the social and solidarity economy."
This meeting, she continued, aims to support women's initiatives, to value their work, and to strengthen their role as actors of change, adding: "we are laying the foundations for a structure that aims to unite forces, exchange resources, and make the voices of women engaged in the cooperative movement heard."
In this regard, she noted that the Federation constitutes a space for innovation and solidarity, which aims to strengthen the competitiveness of women's cooperatives, to offer them a platform for the exchange of expertise, and to defend their increasingly important role in the local and national economy.
For her part, the President of the Regional Federation of Women's Cooperatives, Ihsane Hamoudan, highlighted the efforts of the UAF in welcoming and accompanying women's cooperatives, through training in the field of social and solidarity economy, which were the basis for the creation of the Federation.
"The creation of the Federation comes to respond to an urgent need of women's cooperatives working in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts, and services," she continued, emphasizing that this structure aims to "strengthen cooperation and solidarity, to consolidate the network of women's cooperatives with a view to fostering the sharing of experiences and knowledge, to promote the economic empowerment of women, and to provide technical and financial support to the cooperatives that are members of the federation."
For her part, Karima Choukri, an executive at the regional delegation of the Office for the Development of Cooperation in Tangier, noted in a statement to MAP that this meeting is an opportunity to highlight the role of women's cooperatives as a lever for development in improving women's income, noting that these cooperatives contribute to the socio-economic empowerment of women.
This initiative will allow for the improvement of the performance of the cooperatives, she added, noting that a program is being developed for next year, including training and awareness workshops in the fields of administrative and financial management, and marketing.
It should be noted that the e-commerce portal is an innovative digital platform that will allow cooperatives to market their local artisanal products and services in national and international markets.
This portal aims to facilitate the access of cooperatives to markets, to stimulate the competitiveness of their products, while strengthening their local identity, as well as to promote an inclusive and sustainable economy that places women's cooperatives at the heart of regional development.
This initiative is part of the "Wuluj" project, implemented by the Union of Feminist Action (UAF), in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with a view to strengthening the social and solidarity economy in the region.
The Federation aspires to intensify efforts and strengthen advocacy, in order to defend the interests of cooperatives more effectively, as well as to implement collective strategies to respond to common challenges faced by cooperatives, such as access to markets, promotion of local products, access to financing, and training.
It also aims to contribute actively to the economic empowerment of women, both in rural and urban areas, to the promotion of the social and solidarity economy in the region, and to the strengthening of cohesion and synergy between cooperatives, in order to make them a strategic lever for the development of communal projects, as well as for the implementation of public policies favorable to women's cooperatives.
Speaking on this occasion, the Secretary General of the UAF-Tangier section, Fathiya SaĂŻdi, emphasized that this event constitutes "a historic step in our common commitment to the economic and social empowerment of women and the development of the social and solidarity economy."
This meeting, she continued, aims to support women's initiatives, to value their work, and to strengthen their role as actors of change, adding: "we are laying the foundations for a structure that aims to unite forces, exchange resources, and make the voices of women engaged in the cooperative movement heard."
In this regard, she noted that the Federation constitutes a space for innovation and solidarity, which aims to strengthen the competitiveness of women's cooperatives, to offer them a platform for the exchange of expertise, and to defend their increasingly important role in the local and national economy.
For her part, the President of the Regional Federation of Women's Cooperatives, Ihsane Hamoudan, highlighted the efforts of the UAF in welcoming and accompanying women's cooperatives, through training in the field of social and solidarity economy, which were the basis for the creation of the Federation.
"The creation of the Federation comes to respond to an urgent need of women's cooperatives working in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts, and services," she continued, emphasizing that this structure aims to "strengthen cooperation and solidarity, to consolidate the network of women's cooperatives with a view to fostering the sharing of experiences and knowledge, to promote the economic empowerment of women, and to provide technical and financial support to the cooperatives that are members of the federation."
For her part, Karima Choukri, an executive at the regional delegation of the Office for the Development of Cooperation in Tangier, noted in a statement to MAP that this meeting is an opportunity to highlight the role of women's cooperatives as a lever for development in improving women's income, noting that these cooperatives contribute to the socio-economic empowerment of women.
This initiative will allow for the improvement of the performance of the cooperatives, she added, noting that a program is being developed for next year, including training and awareness workshops in the fields of administrative and financial management, and marketing.
It should be noted that the e-commerce portal is an innovative digital platform that will allow cooperatives to market their local artisanal products and services in national and international markets.
This portal aims to facilitate the access of cooperatives to markets, to stimulate the competitiveness of their products, while strengthening their local identity, as well as to promote an inclusive and sustainable economy that places women's cooperatives at the heart of regional development.
