The success of Rochdale Pioneers and Raiffeesen Credit Movement received keen attention in many Asian Countries. Attempts to organize cooperatives by the people and social reformers in many countries in Asia were initiated during the second half of the 19th century, particularly in Japan, India, Indonesia and Australia. The first International Cooperative Congress, held in London in 1895, was attended by Australian and Indian participants. The next country to join the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) from Asia was Japan in 1910. However, as most Asian countries were under colonial rule, the people's promotion of cooperatives was taken over by government officials and the people lost interest. Thus the growth of cooperatives became slow in most countries with the exception of Australia and Japan and picked up only when these countries were decolonized and had their own national governments.
