The Certified Institute of Cooperatives and Social Enterprise Management (CICOSEMA), “The Institute”, is a professional organisation, established under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and duly registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission!

It provides training and support to Cooperative Societies, Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), their managers and members, on issues that are of considerable concern on operational and administrative best practices in the achievement of their set objectives, challenges of compliance with government regulations and policies, etc.

The Institute does not intend to, and should not be misconstrued as established to, like a government agency, regulate and/or impugn on the activities and operations of these organization, but to work with them, and for them, to properly render support services that will help in the achievement of their set objectives and also guide them in areas that places responsibilities on them, to offer protection to them and their members. (Please, go further to read up the objectives of The Institute for a clear cut and explicit understanding of its objectives.) It is set up as a coordinating and regulatory body for its professional members and practitioners within the 3rd Sector, for the sustainability of high ethical responsibilities, behavioural practices and policy directions. By these, appropriate channels of control are synchronised for standardised corporate practices, good governance and accountability.

CICOSEMA’s objectives are elaborately pursued by, respectively, promoting standardized professional training through properly articulated curricula and administering professional exams on interested persons who join The Institute to test their proper understanding of what it takes to professionally run these organisations, including access to affordable funding of their dreams, and such related matters, records keeping, filing of returns with the relevant authorities, writing minutes of meetings and conducting Annual General Meetings, Extraordinary General Meetings and other statutory meetings, as required by law.

The Institute operates the Committee System, under a Board of Trustees and does not have a profit motivate. Members of the Governing Council, who are elected for specific terms by members, at the Annual General Meeting, give policies and programmes direction for implementation by Management.

Potential Employment Areas: Agricultural Cooperatives; Consultancy Services; Cooperative Banks; Educational Institutes; Housing Cooperatives; Educational Associations like Training Institutes and Research Organisations; Retail/Purchasing Cooperatives; Producers’ Cooperatives; Religious Associations like Churches and Mosques; Foundations; Voluntary and Charity organizations; Social Works and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Establishments; Scientific Associations; Literary and Cultural Associations; Sporting Associations; Social Development Associations and Clubs; etc.

Employment Positions Available to Holders of The Institute’s Certificates: Analyst; Recorder; Personal Assistant; Special Assistant; General Office Administrator; School Administrator; Hospital Administrator; Church Administrator, Mosque Administrator, Auditor; B2B Sales and Marketing; Business Development Manager; Consultant; Cooperative Accountant; Cooperative Personnel Manager; Corporate Relations Manager; Strategy Manager; Finance Manager; Services Manager; Divisional Manager; Enterprise Relationships Manager; Facilitator; Front Office Savings Clerk; Fundraising Manager; Grants Manager; Investigative Analyst; New Partnerships Manager; Note Taker; Researcher; Research Analyst; Research & Evaluation Manager; Rural Development Economist; Senior Club Manager; Stacker; Tax Practitioner; Time Keeper; Trainee Manager; etc.

Plus-Competencies and skills acquired through The Institute’s Training Programmes: Beyond the professional skills that are impacted on CICOSEMA members, the following are also integrated into our training programmes for broader and rounded performances: Administrative and Communication Skills; Complex Problems Solving Skills; Flexibility and Patience; Coordination and Motivation; Artificial Intelligence; Critical Thinking; Financial Resource Management; Management of Personnel Resources; Mathematics; Teamwork and Monitoring; Negotiation; Operations Analysis; Persuasion; Time Management; etc.