Optimizing sesame sales and professionalizing governance and financial management

Selam union has been enrolled in the C4C capacity building program since 2013. With C4C support, the union has been showning good progress in different aspects for the past years. Major highlights: The union member cooperatives increased from 23 to 39 PC, the union sesame collection capacity increased from year to year, the union staff got export marketing knowledge and the union have started exporting sesame to Chinese and Israeli buyers, awareness creation discussion platform was organized in different time in order to strengthened the PCs and union's relationship. In addition to these, 5 year strategic plan was developed for the union and validated by all stakeholders and now it is being implemented, internal capital mobilization awareness created at the union and PC level and the union collected around 1 million birr from its members, five professional PC managers have been recruited. Furthermore, key staff have been recruited at the union level (like marketing manager, agronomist and HR manager), the union participated in different international and national annual workshops and promoted itself to international buyers, the union staffs trained and coached on making bankable business pan preparation and they have got the experience to develop a sound bankable business plan. However, the union still has some challenges that need improvement; shortage of working capital, more than 14 million birr unpaid loan, the union and its member PCs are in loss, serious shortage cash, members farmers shortage of input finance, poor governance and leadership practice at the union and the PC level, manual financial record keeping system, poor agronomic practice, weak relationship between the union and PCs and poor market price information collection and documentation system.