India | 28 August 2026: Kishor Kumar T. K., Chief Project Coordinator of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd. (ULCCS), Kerala, India, and a Working Group Member on Global Cooperative Culture and Heritage of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), as well as Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment, ICA Asia-Pacific, participated as a Distinguished Speaker and Mentor at the International Conference on Worker Cooperatives and Decent Youth Employment in Africa, held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 24 to 26 August 2026.
The conference was organised by Cooperation Africa, in partnership with the International Cooperative Alliance–Africa (ICA-Africa), bringing together cooperative leaders, policymakers, researchers, development partners and young cooperative entrepreneurs from across Africa. The conference focused on the vital role of worker cooperatives in creating decent employment, fostering entrepreneurship and advancing inclusive and sustainable economic development.
Kishor Kumar delivered a presentation on “Worker Cooperatives and Job Creation – Examples from Around the World and Africa,” sharing the experience and evolution of ULCCS as a worker-owned cooperative. He highlighted how cooperative enterprises can create sustainable employment while promoting collective ownership, entrepreneurship, innovation and inclusive economic participation.
A key focus of his intervention was the meaningful participation of young people in the cooperative movement. He emphasised that youth should not be viewed merely as beneficiaries of cooperatives, but as active entrepreneurs, members, innovators, decision-makers and future leaders of the movement.
As part of the Africa Cooperative Entrepreneurship (ACE) Programme, Kishor Kumar also interacted with and mentored young African cooperative ambassadors. The mentoring sessions encouraged participants to explore cooperative entrepreneurship as a practical pathway to employment, enterprise development and economic empowerment.
Addressing the growing challenge of youth unemployment across Africa, including in countries such as South Africa, Kishor Kumar highlighted the potential of cooperatives to provide young people with opportunities for decent work, collective ownership, entrepreneurship and meaningful economic participation.
He called for greater investment in youth-led cooperatives, cooperative education, entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership development, stressing that young people must be placed at the centre of the future of the cooperative movement.
“Empowering young people through cooperatives is not simply about creating jobs; it is about creating entrepreneurs, owners and leaders who can shape a more inclusive and sustainable economy,” he emphasised.
Kishor Kumar’s participation in the conference and the ACE Programme further strengthened international cooperation and knowledge exchange between the cooperative movements of India and Africa, while highlighting the experience of ULCCS as an example of how worker cooperatives can contribute to employment generation, enterprise development and inclusive economic growth.
The engagement also reinforced the importance of South–South cooperation and peer learning in building resilient cooperative enterprises and creating new opportunities for Africa’s young generation.
