State of African Cooperatives: 2026 Mid-Year Economic Impact Report

State of African Cooperatives

2026 Mid-Year Economic Impact Report

The State of African Cooperatives mid-year assessment estimates that cooperatives across the continent contributed USD 8.2 billion to GDP and supported 14 million jobs in the first half of 2026.

Key Indicators

| Indicator | H1 2026 | YoY Change | |-----------|---------|------------| | GDP Contribution | USD 8.2bn | +6.4% | | Employment | 14.0m jobs | +3.1% | | Financial Inclusion | 38m members | +8.2% | | Capital Raised (CDEs) | USD 47m | +22% | | Women Members | 7.8m | +9.5% | | Youth Members (under 35) | 4.1m | +12.3% |

Sector Performance

Agriculture remains the largest cooperative sector, contributing 54% of cooperative GDP. Financial services cooperatives (savings and credit) grew fastest at 11% YoY.

SDG Contributions

African cooperatives are directly advancing:

• SDG 1 (No Poverty) — 2.3m members moved above the poverty line
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality) — 56% of new members are women
• SDG 8 (Decent Work) — 14m formal jobs with fair wages
• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) — rural wealth creation narrowing urban-rural gap

Country Scorecard

Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda lead in cooperative density. Zimbabwe's cooperative sector grew 7.8% — above the continental average — driven by CDEx-facilitated capital raising.

Interactive Visualisations

Full interactive dashboards — including geographic distribution, sector allocation, and economic impact charts — are available in the CDEx analytics portal.