Examination of the Roles of Cooperative Society on the Promotion of Small Scale Enterprises in Osun State, Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VI, June 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Examination of the Roles of Cooperative Society on the Promotion of Small Scale Enterprises in Osun State, Nigeria

Rafiu A. Olaore*, Kamila O. Alao

Osun State, Polytechnic, Iree, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author

Abstract: – This study aims to examine the roles of cooperative society on the promotion of small and medium scale enterprises in Osun State, Nigeria. The purpose of the study is to investigate the operation of cooperative society, its business environment and socio-economic impact on the promotion of small enterprises. Co-operatives societies contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities through the creation of product/service, enterprise financing, employment opportunity and social responsibility. The survey was done between early December 2018 and late March 2019 while the technique of simple random sampling is used to select the sample of 30 respondents from each cooperative society making a total sample size of 90. The study recommends that the government, at all level, should support the development of cooperative society as it promotes the economic well-being of the people through the spread of small businesses.

Keywords: Cooperative Society, Small and Medium Enterprises, Socio-economic Development, Enterprise Financing.

I. INTRODUCTION

Cooperative society describes as a business organisation in which a group of individuals who have a common interest, mutually agree to join together to form the business in order to promote their economic activities such as production, distribution, or marketing of goods and services, and for the provision of welfare benefits to the members (Brown, 1986 in Effiom, 2014). The introduction of modern cooperative business into Nigeria dates back to the year 1935 following the acceptance by the colonial administration of Mr C, F, Strickland’s report on the prospects of cooperative in Nigeria (Agbo and Chidebelu, 2010). In his submission, Bello (2005) stated that for over 160 years, cooperatives had been an effective way for people to exert control over their economic livelihoods as they play an increasingly important role in facilitating job creation, economic growth and social development. However, Co-operatives society offer communities’ opportunities to create employment for the residents, generate power in the market place, make goods and services available, prevent the leakage of participants money and assist in youth retention (Gibson, 2005).

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