Fifty cooperatives to get internet access for e-commerce

A VT9.8 million government investment will see 25 cooperatives across Vanuatu get access to e-trading on the internet by early next year, with another 25 to follow.

The Registrar of the Office of the Registrar of Co-operatives and Business Development Services, Ridley Joseph, and the CEO of Vodafone Vanuatu, Barlen Lutchmoodoo, have signed the VSAT Installation Contract for the delivery of the project.

The VSAT system will provide an e-commerce platform to the cooperatives allowing online trading between coops, individual farmers, the Vanuatu Primary Producers’ Authority, fishermen, schools and small businesses who will be able to use a voucher system for information or trading purposes.

Media Officer for the Ministry of Trade and Ni-Vanuatu Business, Jean Baptiste Carlo, says the development is a milestone achievement for cooperatives in Vanuatu which make an important contribution to the economy.

The Registrar of Co-Operatives says his office had been working on the development for more than five months.

Mr Joseph says plans are in place to provide and install satellite disks for a total of 50 cooperatives, with work starting on an initial 25 cooperatives in early 2022.

Vodaphone’s Mr Lutchmoodoo says internet connectivity is key to the success of every cooperative across Vanuatu and says his company is pleased to be able to support the project.

He says the project will help the selected cooperatives to connect online and will make communications easier for them.

The cooperative movement began in 1962 in Vanuatu and there are now around 400 registered cooperatives in the country, with most involved in savings, loans and retail; and others in primary production, fisheries and transport.