The entire development of a business enterprise in a particular country required difference institutional frame work.

One of such institutional frame work is the co-operative business enterprise.  The word co-operative can have different interpretation.   In a lay man’s language, it means working together or working mutually.  Another interpretation which is where our emphasis lies, means a unique type of business organization.  The co-operative has been defined by different school of thought but the variation lies in the degree of emphasis on one aspect or the other.

One school of thought describes co-operative as business undertaking owned and operated by voluntary associations in order to provide members with work and wages or with goods and services.  But the International co-operative alliance (ICA) defined co-operative as “An autonomous association of persons, united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

The role of economic of co-operative in business is indispensable to the growth and development of the economy. This vital role has been justified by co-operators in the socio-economic and political development particularly in developed countries like England, known for consumer co-operative and Germany known for Credit co-operative.  Likewise in the developing countries like Nigeria.

Co-operative movement is a world wide phenomena from which countries have developed from simple traditional form (8) of mutual institution to a modern formally organized institution.

This institution has gained world wide acceptance because of the great role.  It has played in the economy development of various countries particularly in those of the developed countries.

The economic success of co-operative inevitably has social effects.  Co-operative management bring better yield which in turn yields better income and which in the essence means better housing, better health, high standard of living, and better education for members and their families.

This economics success of co-operative societies has been witnessed invaluably in co-operative business enterprise.  This can be seen in the area of  co-operative credit association, which are:

1. CTLS:  Co-operative Thrift and Loan Societies. (Chukwu S.C 1990.)

2. CTCS: Co-operative Thrift and Credit Societies.

The project work intends among other things to look into the various problems encountered by co-operative and co-operators field workers in the process of setting up and sustaining co-operative business enterprises.

Some of these problems encountered in this process include ignorance, lack of knowledge on the meaning and purpose of co-operative business enterprises.

Another problem is the one encountered by the government and ministerial officials in the process of getting to the people at the grassroots and so as to be able to set up co-operative business enterprises from the mutual benefit of the people.  Another area is the business cycles problem.  The problems of fluctuating business cycles has contributed to the difficulty of organizing co-operative enterprises.

Finally, the project work intend to point out that lack of education of co-operative members.  In their right and duties as members of the co-operative is to be run, to ensure it’s continued existence.

(Igwe C C., 1993).

The project work is conducted to highlight the role and performance of co-operative society in terms of promotion of the economics interest, or provision of service for it’s members at a suitable rate.

Also the objective of this study is to throw more light on the formation of co-operative business enterprises as regard to what motivates various individuals.  It could be for either of sociological or emotional reasons and external pressure.

The significance of this study, economics of co-operative business enterprises, can be x-rays in special co-operative banks that have been established in many state of the federation for financing co-operative development projects.  For instance, the federal government has given two outstanding federal government financial institutions that gives loans and advance of co-operative on soft grounds, they are:

The Central Bank of Nigeria (C B N)  and the Nigeria Agricultural and Co-operative Bank (N A C B) which was established in 1973.  And  presently, the Federal Government has also set-up “FEAP Loan Scheme” for the financing of small scale business enterprises under the umbrella of co-operative society.

Basically, this study was aimed at finding out the importance of studying  economic co-operative business enterprises as a qualifying subject for the award of O.N.D.  in co-operative economics and management .   The scope of the study is limited to appraising the various definitions of co-operative by several school of thoughts on how the economics of co-operative emanated and the various development stages the subject has passed through.