Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs in Cooperative Businesses in Asia and Pacific 

A joint program organized by ICA-AP Committees on Women and Trade & Business to commemorate the International Year of Cooperatives 2025

Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka

November 25, 2025 II 2:00 – 5:30 pm (Local time)

Background to the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025 Theme

On June 19, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives, underscoring the vital role cooperatives play in sustainable development.

This year’s IYC theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World” underscores the enduring global impact of cooperatives, positioning them as essential solutions to today’s global challenges. It highlights their contributions to sustainable development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions, showing how cooperatives are key drivers in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The theme also emphasizes the unique ability of cooperatives to foster inclusive growth and strengthen community resilience.

Background to the Joint Program 

The ICA-AP Committee on Women and Committee on Trade & Business have joined hands to hold a collaborative international program during the 17th ICA-AP Regional Assembly, scheduled to take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka from November 24-28, 2025. Aimed at commemorating IYC 2025, the joint program is a unique collaboration between both the Committees, to showcase how women cooperative entrepreneurs contribute toward making world a better place.

Driven by the objective to celebrate outstanding women cooperative entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region, the program is going to focus on personal narratives of selected women cooperative entrepreneurs who have made strides in making their cooperative enterprises not only successful but also impactful for their members and communities at large.

The program will provide an international platform to women cooperative entrepreneurs to share their motivations behind starting a cooperative enterprise, their experiences in running cooperative enterprises, their challenges and learnings while doing business and trading of cooperative products and/or services, and their success stories about the impact and value that they create for their members and community.

Through this program, the hosts aim to enhance the visibility of women cooperative entrepreneurs, celebrate their cooperative journeys and recognize their contributions toward making the lives of people better, and making local communities and world at large sustainable.

Who will speak?

The program will bring together speakers from four key cooperative sectors, where women form a large part of the membership and workforce. These sectors are:

  • Textiles
  • Food production/processing
  • Handicrafts
  • Tourism

The speakers will share their cooperative journeys, supported by audio-visual presentations of their cooperatives.

Who are the Participants?

The participants will be members of ICA-AP Committee on Women and Committee on Trade & Business and delegates representing cooperative enterprises and apex federations from different countries in the Asia-Pacific region who will be attending the ICA-AP Regional Assembly.

Tentative Program Schedule

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2:00 – 2:10 pm (~10 mins)

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2:10 – 2:35 pm (~ 25 mins)

Keynote address

Mr. Mangala Wijesinghe, Head of the SheTrades Sri Lanka Hub and Chairman and CEO of Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB)

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2:35 – 3:15 pm (~40 mins)

Spotlight

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3:15 – 3:30 pm (~15 mins)

Queries and reflections

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3:30 – 4:00 pm (~30 mins)

Networking break

(Tea/coffee break)

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4:00 – 5:00 pm (~60 mins)

Spotlight

  • Ms. Emalia Binti Rabin, Koperasi Desa Cinta Kobuni Berhad, Malaysia

  • Ms. Kumiko Matsuhashi, Vice-President, National Women’s Association of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Zenkoku Joseikyo), Japan

  • Ms. Sahar Farraj, President of the Handicraft & Agro-Food Processing Cooperative Union, Palestine

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5:00 – 5:25 pm (~25 mins)

Queries and reflections

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5:25 - 5:30 pm (~5 mins)

Closing remarks and vote of thanks by Ms. Chitose Arai, Chairperson, ICA-AP Committee on Women

~ Facilitators: Ms. Wan Azwati Wan Mohamed, Secretary, Committee on Trade & Business and Ms. Simren Singh, Secretary, Committee on Women