SANCOC HISTORY 

The Southern African National Cooperatives Council (SANCOC) was established in 2005 under the auspices of the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) as a recognized civil society entity within the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC).

During its formative years, SANCOC closely adhered to the exemplary standards set by the Deutsche Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband (GDRV), the Co-operative Federation for German Co-operatives. Initially, SANCOC's primary objective was to foster Cooperative Enterprise Development across various industries and promote the interests and advancement of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Southern Africa.

Remaining faithful to its original mission, SANCOC, since 2019, as outlined in the Terms of Reference of the Development Chamber within NEDLAC, has actively contributed to urban and rural development strategies while also spearheading initiatives to secure financing for development programs and campaigns aimed at garnering civil society support for government-associated delivery institutions.

SANCOC maintains a stance of non-partisanship and non-racialism while being firmly committed to matters of transformation. Transformation, in its essence, necessitates leveling the playing field, predominantly through capacity-building endeavors such as upskilling and reskilling in various facets of entrepreneurial development. These include effective human capital management, instilling and maintaining good corporate governance practices, sustaining competitiveness, advocating for policy and legislative reforms by the government, fostering self-dependency, addressing gender disparities in ownership, and supporting small business development through the assistance of larger corporations.

In line with its mandate and vision, SANCOC established SANCOC Zira Africa Franchise PTY Ltd, a subsidiary of SANCOC SHIP Inc, to operationalize its objectives effectively.