Available in Spanish

Develop essential skills for creating and managing an effective Business Plan.

Formulation of Cooperative Business Plans

Comprende los principios y valores cooperativos, identifica oportunidades de mercado, realiza análisis financieros, y elabora estrategias de marketing.

  • Certificate of completion
  • 100% online course
  • Level Intermediate
  • More than 20* hours of content
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Understand cooperative principles and values, identify market opportunities, conduct financial analysis, and develop marketing strategies.

The Business Plan serves so that Cooperatives have, in a detailed manner, the description of the main business; it helps to identify the operational, administrative, financial, and technological capacities and needs that it faces for the production and marketing of the product or service; and it allows defining the necessary commercial strategies to achieve operational and financial viability.

The course aims to provide general guidelines so that Cooperatives generate internal capacities in their organization regarding business development and operation from a business perspective, and serve as a tool to efficiently manage the resources the organization has to obtain positive economic results.

¿A quién esta dirigido?

  • Board of Directors
  • General Management
  • Marketing Committee
  • Profile:
  • Secondary level education
  • Experience in cooperative businesses (3 years)
  • Basic computer or smartphone skills
  • Knowledge of and/or familiarity with digital platforms
  • Access to cellular networks and internet

What will you learn?

Define the current situation; Processes; Installed capacity; Limitations and Obstacles; and Value chain of the product.
Identify the main product with added value according to the target market, as well as pricing, place, and promotion strategies.
Define productive and administrative processes; infrastructure, technology, and human resources necessary to operate the business.
Evaluate the operational and financial viability of the business for the Cooperative, as well as the needs for financial leverage.

Course modules

5 modules · 13 sessions

  1. Business Background

    Duration: 2.5 hours

    Sessions: 1 Week

    Tutoring: Victoria Monzón

    Deliverable: Upon completion of this first module, Cooperatives will be in a position to identify the obstacles and limitations for developing the Cooperative's main business, as well as the opportunities and need for business growth.

    1. Session 1Business Background
    2. Session 2Tutoring
    You'll learn:

    Define the current situation of the business, regarding the products or services provided by the Cooperative; the production and marketing processes currently carried out; the current installed capacity for production, collection, processing and marketing; the limitations and obstacles for business growth; as well as, the product value chain and, at which, link in the chain are currently located.

  2. Business Plan

    Duration: 4.5 hours

    Sessions: 1.5 Weeks

    Tutoring: Victoria Monzón / Manuel Contreras

    Deliverable: Upon completing this second module, Cooperatives will be in a position to define the target market for the product with added value and competitive characteristics, as well as market prices.

    1. Session 1Market
    2. Session 2Marketing Strategies
    3. Session 3Tutoring
    You'll learn:

    Define which product with added value will be the object of the Cooperative's main business, according to the target market; characteristics and competitive advantages; as well as marketing strategies, such as prices, sales locations, and promotion.

  3. Productive and Administrative Processes to Operate the Business

    Duration: 3 hours

    Sessions: 1.5 Weeks

    Tutoring: Eddy Díaz

    Deliverable: Upon completing the third module, Cooperatives will be able to define the real possibility of achieving the product with added value in the quantity, quality, and cost competitive to the market.

    1. Session 1Production and Administrative Processes to Operate the Business
    2. Session 2Infrastructure and Equipment Needs
    3. Session 3Tutoring
    You'll learn:

    Define the productive and administrative processes, productive infrastructure, technology, and human resources necessary to generate the product or service to be provided by the Cooperative.

  4. Operational and Financial Viability to Develop the Business

    Duration: 5.5 Hours

    Sessions: 3 Weeks

    Tutoring: Victoria Monzón

    Deliverable: Upon completing the fourth module, Cooperatives will be in a position to decide whether they can and whether it is financially advantageous for them to develop the business.

    1. Session 1Operational and financial viability to develop the business
    2. Session 2Production Volumes and Estimated Sale Prices
    3. Session 3Sales Projection
    4. Session 4Tutoring
    You'll learn:

    Assess whether it is operationally and financially viable for the Cooperative to develop the business of producing and selling the value-added product; as well as the financial leverage needs for it to be viable

  5. Business Model

    Duration: 2 hours

    Sessions: 1 Week

    Tutoring: Juan Carlos Marenco

    Deliverable: Structure the cooperative's business model in a practical and clear way that integrates the different key and interrelated elements to develop the business of production and sale of the product with added value.

    1. Session 1Cooperative Business Model
    You'll learn:

    Structure the cooperative's business model in a practical and clear way that integrates the different key and interrelated elements to develop the business of production and sale of the product with added value.

Victoria Monzón

Consultora NCBA CLUSA

Experta en Aspectos Contables, Finanzas y Gestión Cooperativa

Eddy Díaz

Decano de la Facultad de Agronomía

Universidad Regional de Guatemala

Juan Carlos Marenco

Representante de País NCBA CLUSA

Manuel Contreras

Director Escuela de Empresas Cooperativas - NCBA CLUSA

Completion

Obtendrás el certificado de reconocimiento al haber completado satisfactoriamente las actividades prácticas del curso, haber asistido y participado activamente en todas las sesiones, y haber formulado y presentado el Plan de Negocios Cooperativos.

What is the purpose of the Business Plan for cooperatives?

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Frequently asked questions

The course is completely free and there are no fees to pay. The scholarship is provided by USDA and USAID to participate in CBS training programs. To get a scholarship, you just need to request it through the available scholarship program.

To get a scholarship, you just need to request it through the available scholarship program.

Generally, to request a scholarship you fill out an application form provided during enrollment or, if you are already registered on the CBS platform, you can click "Request classroom access" on each course page — just make sure you are signed in to see it. To gain access, you must be registered on the CBS platform.

In most cases there are no restrictions, unless the course targets a specialized topic such as accounting, agriculture, trade, etc.

The course Formulation of Cooperative Business Plans runs for 20 hours spread across 8 weeks.

The course material will be available for download in the Virtual Classroom. In addition, in the Platform Resources section you can access various reading, reference and application resources.

Certificates are only granted to those who have satisfactorily completed all the activities of the modules that make up the course.

Participants must complete the assigned activities, attend the scheduled sessions to resolve questions, engage in community discussions or forums, and follow the established rules of conduct.

The scheduled office hours are calendared spaces where instructors or tutors are available to answer questions, receive projects, provide follow-up, and offer additional information or new courses to scholarship recipients.