Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies

The Department of Co-operative and Friendly Societies (DCFS), an agency within the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce which has the responsibility for administering the Co-operative Societies and Friendly Societies Acts and their respective Regulations. Its objectives are to facilitate the establishment and development of Co-operative Societies and Friendly Societies and to supervise their operations.

The DCFS and the JSIF a signed Memorandum of Understanding in 2007. The DCFS trains and certifies as legal entities; select Community Based Organizations (CBOs) that have received funding approval for their project from the JSIF. This is necessary if the project under consideration is being implemented under the Community Based Contracting methodology, which requires the CBO to enter into financial contracts with the JSIF and on behalf of JSIF when engaging in procurement activities for JSIF projects.