By Desmond Nleya
Dubai — Tanzania has moved to reposition its cooperative economy as a structured, investment-ready partner for global markets with the launch of Coop Village at this year’s Gulfood, one of the world’s largest food and agribusiness exhibitions.
Hosted at the Tanzania Pavilion and led by the Tanzania Federation of Cooperatives (TFC), Coop Village is a coordinated trade and deal-facilitation platform designed to move beyond traditional exhibition models toward concrete commercial engagement with international buyers, investors, and development partners.
Unlike conventional country showcases, Coop Village functions as a centralized interface where Tanzania’s cooperative institutions collectively present aggregated supply, governance systems, and investment opportunities, enabling structured discussions around sourcing, contract farming, processing, and long-term partnerships.
Speaking to Daily Times News, TFC Commercial Director Juma Bruno Ngumuo said the federation represents more than 4,000 cooperative societies and over ten million people nationwide, giving it the scale and institutional depth required to engage global markets effectively.
Coop Village has been deliberately designed as a “deal room” rather than a display space. The initiative responds to persistent challenges in global agricultural trade, where international buyers and investors often struggle to identify reliable, traceable, and institutionally credible supply from emerging markets.
“Coop Village is about reducing friction,” Mr Ngumuo said, adding that it connects global demand directly with organized cooperative supply systems that already operate at scale.
By consolidating engagement through a single platform, TFC aims to streamline negotiations, due diligence, and post-event follow-up, positioning cooperatives as commercially dependable partners.
Coop Village brings together some of Tanzania’s most established cooperative institutions, including: TANCCOOPS, TANECU Ltd, Nyanza Cooperative Union, Ulanga Kilombero Cooperative Union (UKICU) and Tanzania Federation of Cooperatives (TFC).
Collectively, these institutions aggregate production from thousands of farmers across multiple regions, operating under formal governance, compliance, and traceability frameworks that support contract performance and market accountability.
At this year Gulfood, Coop Village is showcasing Tanzania’s cooperative capacity across a broad range of priority commodities, including, Oilseeds , nuts, Spices, tea, herbs, grains, pulses, sisal and other cash crops, agroforestry crops and Industrial and agro-industrial products.
Beyond commodity exports, cooperatives are actively seeking strategic partnerships in inputs and services such as packaging materials, fertilizers, processing equipment, logistics solutions, industrial supplies, and digital market systems, reflecting a broader push toward value-chain integration and industrial linkages.
Mr Ngumuo also emphasized that Coop Village has been structured to serve multiple international stakeholders that include buyers, investors and development partners while acting as the coordinating body, ensuring continuity beyond the exhibition through follow-up mechanisms, due diligence support, and institutional liaison.
