8. Cooperatives (SCAFI)

SCAFI members join through a cooperative society. Only a verified cooperative can be chosen by a SCAFI applicant. SAIF has no cooperative step.

Who can register a cooperative: CSA, PA or SCA (Registrar).

Who can verify it: a second registrar, who is not the person who registered it. The PSA is exempt from this rule.

8.1 Register a cooperative

1. Sign in and open Investment schemes.
2. Open the Cooperatives tab.
3. Select Register a cooperative. The dialog is titled "Register a cooperative society".
4. Fill in:
   • Registered name. At least 3 characters.
   • Registration number. This must be unique in the system. At least 3 characters.
   • Registering authority.
   • State. The state of registration.
   • Contact person. At least 2 characters.
   • Contact email. Optional, but must be a valid email if you type one.
   • Contact phone. 10 to 15 digits. A leading + is allowed.
5. Select Save.

What happens next

• The cooperative shows as pending in the cooperative register.
• Registering it also creates a pending organisation record.
• Registrars are told about it. A second registrar can now verify it.

8.2 Verify a cooperative

1. Sign in as a different registrar from the person who registered the cooperative.
2. Open the Cooperatives tab.
3. In the queue, find the cooperative and select Verify.

Before you verify, you should check the paperwork. The system does not check these things for you. The team suggests you check:

• The registration certificate.
• The cooperative's bye-laws.
• The names of the elected officers.

What happens next

• The cooperative register shows it as verified.
• It now appears in the list that SCAFI applicants can choose from.

8.3 Suspend or reinstate a cooperative

• Select Suspend to stop a cooperative from being chosen. Use the option Suspend or reinstate on the cooperative row for later changes.
• A suspended cooperative is no longer offered to new applicants. Existing members are not removed by this step.

Cooperative register columns

Cooperative, Registration, State, Contact, Members, Verified, Status.

Common problems

Problem	What to do
"Verify" is not shown for a cooperative	You are the person who registered it. Ask a different registrar to verify it.
A member cannot find their cooperative in the list	The cooperative is not verified yet. Ask the registrar to verify it.
The registration number is rejected	It is already used. Check the number. Do not register the same society twice.
The phone number is rejected	Use 10 to 15 digits.