National Cooperative Excellence Awards 2026 officially launched

The National Cooperative Excellence Awards 2026 was officially launched this morning by the Minister of Industry, SME and Cooperatives, Mr Aadil Ameer Meea, at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation, in Réduit.

The Minister also proceeded to the inauguration of a workshop on Registration on goAML platform for Cooperative Credit Unions and a workshop on Fairtrade Certification and Clustering for Cooperative Credit Societies.

In his keynote address, Minister Aadil Ameer Meea underlined that these three key initiatives of the Ministry bring together three strategic pillars of the cooperative reform agenda: excellence, compliance and competitiveness. “They encapsulate our drive for direction, discipline, ambition and our commitment to ensure that the cooperative movement in Mauritius is strong enough to protect its members and bold enough to pursue excellence”, he said.

Speaking about the National Cooperative Excellence Awards 2026, the Minister underlined that the Awards are designed to establish a benchmark for cooperative societies in Mauritius as well as to promote performance excellence inspired by internationally recognised standards and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Open to primary and secondary cooperative societies, the awards will honour achievements in good governance; financial sustainability; digitalisation; innovation and creativity; and sustainable and green practices. Provision is also made for a dedicated prize for Rodrigues.

Mr Aadil Ameer Meea moreover underpinned the aim of the competition, which is to foster a culture where transparency, innovation and sustainability are integral to the cooperative identity.

Referring to the requirement for Cooperative Credit Unions to register on the Financial Intelligence Unit’s goAML platform, the Minister recalled that, by virtue of the Finance Act 2025, the supervisory and enforcement powers of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies have been enhanced.

As reporting institutions under the law, Cooperative Credit Unions will through the platform, be able to proceed to the secure submission of Suspicious Transaction Reports. “This reform enhances transparency, strengthens regulatory oversight, and aligns our cooperative financial institutions with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force,” he said.

Besides, the Minister dwelt on the possibility to expand economic opportunities though the Fairtrade certification in the sugar cane sector for cooperative credit societies. According to him the Fairtrade certification has historically brought substantial benefits to Mauritian sugarcane planters, with the Fairtrade Premium generating cumulative earnings of approximately Rs 646.9 million since its introduction.

“Today’s workshop will sensitise cooperative credit societies to the Fairtrade certification and benefits of clustering”, he stated.

The Minister also announced the preparation of a new Cooperative Societies Bill, which will replace the Cooperatives Act 2016. This landmark reform will introduce Online registration and e-filing of returns; Categorisation of cooperatives into micro, small, medium and large entities; Strengthen governance and oversight mechanisms; and establish a Cooperative Enforcement Unit.

24 February 2026

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Topics: Business