ACDI/VOCA

ACDI/VOCA (Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance) is a private, international development nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C, United States. ACDI/VOCA’s mission is to promote economic opportunities for cooperatives, enterprises and communities through the innovative application of sound business practice. ACDI/VOCA works in five main areas:

• Agribusiness Systems
• Enterprise Development
• Financial Services
• Community Development
• Food Security

ACDI/VOCA receives funding from various donors, including USAID, USDA, the World Bank, UNDP, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank and other development funders. ACDI/VOCA also partners with private sector corporations.

History

ACDI (Agricultural Cooperative Development International) was formed in 1963 by major U.S. farm cooperatives. Its principal objective was to provide expertise and support to cooperative enterprises in developing countries.

ACDI helped found IFFCO, India's largest fertilizer company, re-established cooperative banking in Poland, and set up large business-oriented farmer organizations in East Africa, including the cooperative unions in Sidama and Yergacheffe, Ethiopia, that enabled direct export of coffee from those regions. Rural Cooperatives. 1 May 2004.

VOCA (Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance) was established in 1970 to provide volunteer assistance in...
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