At the Committee of Supply debate in March this year, former Minister of State for Community, Culture and Youth Alvin Tan unveiled the 10-Year co-operative sector Transformation Roadmap.

Since then, the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) ran a gamut of dialogue sessions, featuring various stakeholders, including young changemakers and local unions, to consolidate feedback.

Joining the discussion were several co-operative leaders who met in late May, to ideate new solutions, propose new initiatives, and explore synergies with one another.

The event, aptly themed ‘Building a Stronger Movement’, tipped hats to the spirit of co-operativism (self-help and mutual assistance) and underscored the Movement’s commitment to sustainable growth, resilience and relevance.

SNCF’s Chief Executive Officer Ang Hin Kee explained how co-operatives were formed to serve different functions in society, even during tumultuous times. The Movement, he said, is older than Singapore and even survived the Japanese Occupation. Several co-operatives were formed to deal, often with tact and humanness, with challenges and struggles that surfaced across the decades.

“Co-ops are not only willing but also able and ready to do something when there’s a gap in society or for our members,” Mr Ang said. The transformation roadmap aims to future-proof co-operatives by enhancing internal capabilities while responding dynamically to external challenges, he added.

Participants, comprising co-operative leaders from diverse sectors, shared their perspectives on critical issues at length. Perennial problems, such as attracting younger talent, were raised. Other perspectives included improving governance, embracing innovation, and increasing community impact.

SNCF hopes to tap on these insights to identify practical, collective ground-up solutions that will take the Singapore Co-operative Movement forward. To date, there are 76 co-operatives in Singapore.

SNCF’s Chairperson Mr Tng Ah Yiam also encouraged co-operators to think of new ways to reach out to the community.

The year 2025 is momentous on many fronts. Besides being the 100^th anniversary of the Singapore Co-operative Movement, it is also the second International Year of Co-operative by the United Nations. At this pivotal moment, the dialogue served not only as a reflection of the co-operative legacy in Singapore, but also as a launching point toward a renewed and resilient future.

This consultation is part of a series of engagement efforts to ensure that the roadmap is both inclusive and actionable. As the Movement looks ahead to the next century, it remains grounded in its core values while striving to be more agile, scalable, and impactful amid evolving societal and global needs.

By Mary Njo, with additional reporting by Sng Ler Jun