The International Cooperative Banking Association (ICBA) has agreed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tilburg University, to improve the quality and quantity of data it holds about the cooperative financial institutions (CFIs) in its membership.
The forthcoming collaboration will see Tilburg University, based in The Netherlands, develop a global data collection initiative. This improved data will then be used by the ICBA to identify trends and priorities for strategic research and action, particularly in 2025.
The MoU was signed at the ICBA board meeting hosted at the Rabobank Cooperative in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on 21 May 2024, where the Board also discussed a publication to be developed by the ICA Cooperative Law Committee and other stakeholders on the equal treatment of CFIs in law, policy and regulation. The publication will be launched during the UN-IYC.
The meeting was attended by Mr Kyathasandra N. Rajanna, the Honourable Minister of Cooperation for the State of Karnataka (India), who was invited to provide guidance and support to the ICBA in furthering its research and advocacy programmes.
The meeting was chaired by Mr Bhima Subrahmanyam, ICBA President, and attended by Vice Presidents Prof Hans Groeneveld (Netherlands), Mr Mohiuddin Ahmed (Bangladesh) and Board Members Dr Mieczyslaw Grodski, assisted by Dr Adam Piechowski (Poland) and Mr Ravinder Rao Konduru (India). The President also invited the following observers with the aim of fostering closer cooperation, in particular for the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2025: Mr Roland Monasch, CEO of Aflatoun International; Mr Jaap Van Waalwijk van Doorn of Cresol AgriAgencia; Ms Violetta Nafpaktiti, CEO of DotCoop LLC; Mr Bjorn Schrijver, Rabo Partnerships and Mr P. Santosh Kumar, ICA Legislation Director.
Photo: ICBA Board members and Observers at the Rabobank Cooperative HQ in Utrecht
