Mr Lawrence Bale holds a Diploma and Degree in Management and has been the President of the South African National Association of Cooperatives (SANACO) since 2009. He advocates and lobbies for the interests of all registered cooperatives in all nine provinces and sectors in South Africa.

He has also served in various organisations as a national board member and in national leadership positions including the National Cooperatives Association of South Africa (NCASA), the South African Federation of Burial Societies (SAFOBS). He is the President of Southern African Developing Countries Cooperative Federation (SADCCF) and also a member of BRICS Cooperatives Leaders. He represents all cooperatives in South Africa at policy level ie National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) as a principal and has served as a board member of Dorah Tamana Cooperatives Centre (DTCC).

Under his leadership of SANACO and its membership with the International Cooperative Alliance, South Africa was honoured to host the International Cooperative Alliance meeting in November 2013 for the very first time in Africa. SANACO also hosted the BRICS Cooperative Summit in partnership with the dtic in October 2013, and SANACO has signed MOUs with China and India who have agreed to build trade relations between cooperatives in their countries.

He is currently a Board Member in the ICA Africa where he is a Chairperson of the HR and Governance Sub-Committee. He is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) to the Minister of Health particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.