SIYB Success StoriesSIYB Success StoriesSIYB case studies from different regions of TanzaniaThis document compiles some success stories of the entrepreneurs who were recruited and trained in the ILO- Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Program and who have successfully established or improved their businesses as a result of what they learned in the program between 2012- 2013

Youth Entrepreneurship Facility Tanzania 2013

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Introduction. 4

1. Mwanza:

“Learningfromothersanddoingitbetter” 6

2. Musoma

“ItisnevertoolatetomakeaChange”. 9

“UsingoldexperiencetomakeanewFuture” 11

“AchievingtheUnexpected” 13

3. Mtwara(Tandahimba)

“ThinkingbeyondanddiscoveringnewOpportunities” 16

“DynamicMind,OpenEyes” 18

4. Zanzibar

“FromdrugAddictiontoProductiveAgain” 20

5. Arusha

“UnstoppableDetermination” 23

“Learningtogetwhatyouwant” 25

6. DaresSalaam

“Arrivingatalife-timedream” 27

7. Pwani(Kibaha)

“GoldenOpportunityintheMothers’Hands” 30

Table of Contents

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IntroductionThe Youth Entrepreneurship Facility has pursued its programme

implementation through five inter-related and complementary

project components: (i) Promoting a culture of Entrepreneurship; (ii)

Entrepreneurship Education; (iii) Promoting Evidence-based Advocacy; (iv)

Access to Finance for Young Entrepreneurs; (iv) Youth-to-Youth Fund; and (v)

Access to finance and business development services. Youth are recognised

from the ages of 18 to 35 years.

The Facility anticipates the following five immediate outcomes: (i) Improved

attitudes towards entrepreneurship among young women and men; (ii) The

education system produces more entrepreneurial graduates; (iii) Youth start

and improve their business; (iv) Youth organizations deliver innovative youth

entrepreneurship solutions; and (v) Youth employment policy makers and

promoters make evidence based decisions for better resource allocation

and program design.

Since 2010, in Tanzania, YEF has reached out directly to more than 100,000

young people with entrepreneurship promotion messages, more than

11,000 through business development services, and it has facilitated

Mr. Jealous Chirove

Chief Technical Advisor -

Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda

Youth Entrepreneurship Facility (YEF)

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access to finance to some of them. Many of the young people have started

or expanded their businesses as a result of the interventions. In in order

to show some of the stories YEF documents in this publication some of

the project successes for wider dissemination to other young people

and organizations supporting youth entrepreneurship. The case studies

documented in here have been physically visited, and the entrepreneurs

were interrogated to openly express their experiences. The sampled regions

where young entrepreneurs were interviewed are Mtwara, Mwanza, Arusha,

Dar es Salaam, Coastal, Zanzibar, and Mara regions.

Generally this publication has shown interesting motivations demonstrated

by the young entrepreneurs as a result of attending the ILO SIYB training. To

some of them the training was an eye opening experience to a new business

world that they had not thought of before and to others it showed the proper

ways of managing their businesses. Aspects that their stories include the

general information about the young entrepreneur and the situation before

the program, information about the business interventions, the business

idea generation, the influence of the SIYB program on the business (how

the program interventions have benefited them and the impact now), social

values in creating a living for themselves (any change in social and economic

aspects) as well as new jobs; what were the challenges, constraints, future

plans and dreams of the entrepreneurs.

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1. Mwanza “Learning from others and doing it

better”

Jane Makale

Within Tanzania’s second most populous city, business is peaking with the

available market of about 3 million people. Mwanza has a good infrastructure

and a lot of business opportunities. It is within this city where a young lady,

Jane Makale, who after receiving SIYB training finds her way to increase her

earnings.

Jane, 32, a wife and mother of two kids

Willie and Mary, is working as a secretary

at Okwama Enterprises and Agent

Company which is contracted to collect

the Mwanza City’s revenue from several

sources. Jane has been employed for more

than five years, but she felt she needed

another source of income in addition to

her salary in order to make ends meet.

Prior to the SIYB training, Jane was intrigued by an idea that was practised

by a young lady that used to sell women’s latest fashion accessories at

her office. This lady brought in handbags, purses, watches, necklaces, and

perfumes, displaying an array of good taste and quality. Not only were her

products attractive, but they also had a reasonable price tag compared

to the shops in town. Furthermore, she let her customers purchase her

items on a credit basis allowing them to pay her at the end of the month

when they got their salaries. On attending the SIYB training conducted in

Mwanza by the SIYB trainer Musa Mashishanga, Mrs Makale learned how to

successfully emulate a business.

The City of Mwanza, the wide building on the

right is Jane’s office building.

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“When I read about how people get their business ideas, I knew you could also

pick it from someone else who is doing a similar business and improve where he

or she is doing wrong; I saw an opportunity to take advantage of the idea from

the woman who used to sell her products to us” She says.

That is what she did. She picked up the idea of supplying those products to

her colleagues. Why not me, she thought? She was closer to her work mates

and knew her prospective customers well. In the same building where she

worked there were also a lot of other offices for her initial market base.

She got all the information she needed about her business from the same

woman who used to do it before.

WhatdidtheSIYBtrainingteachher?

Above all Jane has learned how to do her marketing, and that she now

understands that marketing is the life blood of a successful business.

“Without a good customer base, which is influenced by marketing, your

business would have been doomed from the start”, she says. Jane now

focuses on marketing her business inside and outside her office. She is now

looking for a permanent address for her business to give it more popularity.

However, she says she will still continue with the previous approach of

taking the commodities to her customers.

Jane Makale also pointed out that

knowing how to calculate the actual

costs of a business was a great revolution.

Howhashernewbusinessinfluencedhersociallife?

Jane can now afford to provide for her family much better than she could

before. She says she is happy when her kids ask for something for school,

Jane in her Office, in the same building she

distributes products to her customers who

are mostly her fellow workmates.

“You know you might think that you are making a profit but the truth is you are just bringing back the money that you had earlier given out”

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and she is able to provide it for them without having to tell them to wait

for their daddy to come up with the money. She lives in a more comfortable

house, for now she can add new furniture from time to time, and most

importantly, she has peace of mind.

Whatarethechallengesthatshefaceinherbusiness?

Although selling on credit gives her reliable customers, it is, however, difficult

to be sure when and whether her customers are going to pay her back. This

makes it difficult for her to plan for future purchases and maintain other

necessary aspects of a growing business. “Sometimes customers could be

very stubborn when it comes to paying or others don’t pay at all, especially

when they shift from the office building forcing her to declare bad debts.

Whatareherfuturedreams?

“I’m not sure yet but I think I’m going to have to quit my job and concentrate

on my business, I want to see myself at the pinnacle of the women’s fashion

provider in the city.”

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2. Mara (Musoma)Lying about 225 kms Northeast of Mwanza, with a population of about

200,000 people, Musoma town provides a reasonable location for business

and entrepreneurship growth. Within this small town, two budding

entrepreneurs and a group of artistic young minds are successfully running

their businesses.

“It is Never too late to make a Change”Castol Simon

Castol Simon, aged 35 years old, is married with one child. He studied

carpentry, and he is now determined to build his future around it. Before

he joined the SIYB training, Castol used to do his carpentry work locally/

unprofessionally, whereby he made small wooden artifacts and sold them

to a handful of customers. He did not actually see carpentry as a serious

business but rather as a means to survive.

After Castol attended the SIYB training in

Musoma which was offered by the SIYB

trainer Maghita Nyang’ore, he decided

that he would now engage himself in

professional and competitive carpentry.

“I decided to embrace my passion and

commit myself to make something out

of it. “Although it seemed to me a bit too

late to venture into this, I knew I could

still do something productive. The training paved the way for me” he says.

WhatdidhelearnfromtheSIYBTraining?

“I learned how to set priorities. I had to decide what I needed to do first. I

also learned that I needed to be committed to my work in order for me to

accumulate the capital I needed for my business.”

Castol at his Business premise

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Whatdoeshedodifferently?

Castol has established a permanent business address where his customers

could easily find him. He also looks for customers instead of just waiting

for them to come to him. He learned that creativity is the key to success in

his line of business; “when I go to sleep I think of what should I do different

tomorrow?” Castol also trains other young aspiring carpenters who wish

to learn his craft, including the three employees that he has employed

permanently.

Whatarethechallengesthathefaces?

Castol has tried to seek for a loan from banks and other financial institutions,

but to no avail. He couldn’t secure a loan due to the bureaucratic system in

place. The lack of capital makes it difficult for him to achieve his objectives.

Whatarehisfuturedreams?

Castol’s dream is to own a small carpentry industry where he would train

youngsters and produce a lot of furniture and wooden artifacts to sell

within and outside his town (Musoma).

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“Using old experience to make a new Future”

Thomas Mdau

Thomas, 29, was a fisherman before he heard about the SIYB training

program. After joining the training program and gaining insights on

business, Thomas made a decision that he would seriously involve himself

in business even if he did not yet know what kind of a business he would

pursue. After considerable thought, Thomas decided to adopt their family

business, a stationary shop.

To start up the business, Thomas borrowed an old photocopying machine

from his father and rented a shop inside the Musoma airport premises

where he allocated his new stationary services. He says the area is well

reachable by customers and is in the middle of the town. However, Thomas

does not wait for customers to come to him. Rather he seeks for tenders

from educational institutions and offices to get work.

WhatdidhelearnfromtheSIYBTraining?

”I have learned a lot about marketing”. Thomas is now convinced that

marketing is the epitome of business. ”I learned that business is more

than just opening a shop and waiting for customers to swarm in, rather

it is about luring them, and trying to satisfy their every need in order to

sustain a lucrative business. Once you know that you have managed to pull

off such a task, you can rest assured that

you will always have customers despite

the complaints from other shop owners

on business being slow due to the lack of

customers.”

“At first I did not think that it was a good business idea but then I thought every business has its challenges, so I decided to stick with my idea.”

Thomas in his stationary shop operating his

photocopying machine

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Howhashisbusinessinfluencedhissociallife?

“I used to depend on my parents on a daily basis. Fishing could not sustain

me one hundred per cent but now with my own income I do everything I

want on my own. I feel free because I know my parents do not see me as a

burden anymore.”

Whatarethechallengesthathefacesinhisbusiness?

“A stationary shop largely depends on the availability of power (electricity).

With unreliable availability of electricity, business becomes a challenge

when customers need our services and we cannot provide it to them. Due

to the unavailability of power, we are considering shifting somewhere else

where there is a standby generator. Also, recently, we have been notified on

the abrupt raise in rent of our shop. We are still not sure whether we are

going to afford the rent with the current business trend” He says.

Whatarehisfutureplans?

”My most recent plan is to have a new machine which can do more printing.

By doing so, I will be sure of getting more work and reliable customers”.

Thomas is also thinking about adding more services that are not available

currently. In the long run I dream of owning a large printing industry, and at

that stage I will be able to call myself “a businessman”.

Thomas has employed a young lady

called Jane Mashauri (24), a mother of

two children. Jane says she enjoys to be

employed by a person of her peer, but

above all she acknowledges that the

business helps her to afford her living

expenses with her two children. “The

good thing about being employed by a

fellow youth is that you feel like you’re

working with a friend. In most cases we

discuss issues instead of him just lashing out orders at me. He motivates me

and I feel like I’m a part of the business. This makes me work hard for him

because I know if the business does not make a profit I will feel bad taking

a salary from him” Jane says.

Jane, Thomas’ employee doing her regular

activity

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“Achieving the Unexpected”Tambo Sanaa Group

A group of 10 friends, 10 young women and men aged between 15 - 25

used to converge in the evenings at a social hall to entertain and tell each

other stories.

In due course they discovered that they all possessed different talents, and

hence decided that they should share and practise their skills. Amongst

them there were people who knew how to sing, recite poetry, and even do

martial arts. A professional poet saw them one day and decided to train

them. They eventually formed a group which was initially never meant for

business.

One day an SIYB trainer in Musoma, Maghita Nyang’ore, was passing by

and saw what they could do and thought their skills can be turned into

a business. He enrolled and trained them in GYBI and SYB. That training,

according to the members, totally changed their lives.

At first they did not comprehend the trainer telling them that they could

make money out of what they were doing. After a few days of training, they

understood the idea. They registered their group with the local government

authorities and then started promoting their group to other people. Since

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then they have been at the center of different functions for entertainment

purposes. They are commonly hired by the government in many of their

functions that require entertainment. Hiring them for such functions may

cost a client between 500 - 800 USD.

Fred Peter (25), the group secretary said “Right now we depend on our

group for most of our needs. Some of us are still students so through this

business we are able to pay our school fees. We are happy that we have

gained popularity and recognition, previously people used to see us as a

group of useless street children”

WhatwerethemostimportantlessonsfromtheSIYBTraining?

Lucas Mwita notes that “The trainer instilled in us ‘self-awareness’, we

learnt what business was. After we understood, it was easy for us to grow

from there. As we were going through the manuals, everybody was very

encouraged and we were like ‘why don’t we start it now?”

Howhavetheirsociallivesimprovedfromtheirnewbusiness?

From different members of Tambo the experience has been very positive

and life changing across the board. Joyce Paul (18) says as a girl she feels

independent when she doesn’t have to beg for anything from anyone. To

her that means freedom and independence. Likewise January Laurent (16)

says that he is happy when he can help his mother with her basic needs at

home. He feels more useful than before. ”I am confident that I will achieve

my dreams without many obstacles.

Whataretheirchallenges?

The group is just starting up so they are still lacking fundamental things

for their performances like uniforms and musical instruments. “People are

not yet fully convinced with our group and hence we do get a fair share of

cancellations. We did however expect all this to happen in the beginning so

we did not despair.”

Whataretheirfutureplans?

Fred says that “we are looking forward to the launch of our poetic shows

on TV, we have also thought of involving ourselves in the film industry. We

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want to make movies that encourage youths like us who don’t think they

can start from nothing and build something productive. We have already

written some scripts, and we are looking forward to finding sponsors who

will help us accomplish our mission”

Howdotheycareabouttheenvironmentintheiractivities?

“Some of the messages that we convey in our songs emphasize on

environmental protection. We know that the protection of the environment

is a critical issue; we have already made a number of songs for the

environment just in case we are called for a sensitization campaign. We

also regularly take part in environmental cleaning activities individually or

as a group. Generally we do care about the environment and we like to think

that we are at the fore front of the preservation campaign”

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3. Mtwara (Tandahimba)Mtwara region, though the second smallest region of Tanzania after

Kilimanjaro, is one of the most resourceful. SIYB trainers are based in

Tandahimba district, one of the five districts. Others are Mtwara Urban,

Mtwara Rural, Masasi, and Newala. The economic activity of Tandahimba

district is mainly cashew nut production and marketing. But as it seems the

cashew nut economy is not attractive for youth. The reason is that you need

to wait for about fifteen years to start a reasonable harvest from a cashew

nut tree. This means if you start a farm when you are 25 years old, you will

start to harvest when you are at least 40.

That being the case, youth around these areas are being used mainly as

labourers in the cashew nut farms, and they are not making a lot from it.

“Thinking beyond-Discovering new Opportunities”

Wasafi Group Classic Car Wash

Wasafi classic car wash was formed by a group of four young men -

Kalim Daddy Kasese (24), the chairperson, Anuali Ahmad Nambunga (22)

Abisalami Salum (23) and Ali Hassan Lichinga (18). They were jobless and

until recently spent most of their time aimlessly roaming around and doing

nothing. The SIYB trainer in Tandahimba, Mbilinyi Isamail, who enrolled these

four men, recalls how difficult it was to convince them to attend training

because they did not believe that they would learn anything productive.

However, they eventually agreed to attend training, and by doing so they

made, in their own words, “a life changing decision”.

During training, they decided that they would come up with a joint business

idea. The objective was to help one another since none of them had done

any business before, and starting alone seemed very challenging.

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Whatexactlydidtheylearnfromthetraining?

Mr. Annuali states that “the training above all increased my confidence.

Things I did not think I could do were made possible by the training I

received. You know we live in an environment that made us believe that it

is either you get employed or you won’t be successful. For the first time in

our lives the training told us something different”.

“We learned that a good business idea is that which brings many customers

who are eager to buy your products or use your services. We realized that

our business idea has to be unique with less competition, so we decided to

create a car wash service” says their chairperson Mr. Kalim Daddy.

HowwastheirbusinessIdeaborn?

When they were thinking of what to do, they discussed many other options

until one of them suggested establishing a car wash. By then there weren’t

any professional car wash spots available in the area, so based on this

criteria of uniqueness and less competition they thought it would be a good

idea if they establish one.

Howhastheirnewbusinessinfluencedtheirsociallife?

The group charges Tshs. 8,000/= ($5) per car. In a day they wash a minimum

of five cars, and that makes a sum of approximately Tsh. 40,000/= (25 USD)

a day. They can now make choices and influence decisions.

Whatarethechallengesthattheyface?

When getting started the local government agreed to give them a piece of

Mr. Anuali Ahmad Nambunga operating one

of the machines they use in their activity

Wasafi group’s business billboard in Tandahimba town advertising

their services

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land where they could locate their business and a bank gave them a loan

of Tsh 1.5 million without having to produce any collateral. The bank gave

them a loan based on their motivation. “I think it is the first time that a bank

does something like this. “At times it is challenging to pay back the loan,

especially when business is not good, but we want to make sure that we

uphold our trustworthy relationship with the bank. It is very encouraging to

us when people come to share their different ideas with us” says Mr. Daddy,

the group chairperson.

Whataretheirfutureplans?

“We intend to establish a comprehensive garage where all services will be

offered, and because we lack the technical knowhow, some of us will have

to go to school for it. After that, we intend to register our company and to

operate even beyond our regional boundaries.

UpoleSuperStarQualityFurniture, the only ready-made furniture shop

available in Tandahimba is the brain child of Hugo Mohamed Upole. Upole

is a graduate trainee of the SIYB training program, the SIYB manuals have

become his daily journals. He says he discovers new things from the

manuals every day.

Upole is married with three children. He is serious with his business in order

to sustain his family and prosper. Before he attended the SIYB training,

Upole had attempted a number of business ventures many of which had

failed. At the time of training he was running a restaurant, after the training,

he decided to change his business idea. “It was a difficult decision to make,

but after what I learned from the training I knew it was for the best.

Whydidhepickafurniturebusiness?

Upole wanted something unique and new in his area so as to attract more

customers. He was also looking forward to venturing into a business less

stressful than the restaurant business. He thought of many other options

which they analysed in class, eventually he settled with a furniture shop.

“Dynamic Mind, Open Eyes”Hugo Mohamed Upole

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HowtheSIYBTraininghelpedhim

”The training manuals have become my business guide books. I go through

them every day and every day I learn something new. I now know the

consequences of not being careful in business. I try to keep my records

better and I do my marketing beyond the shop walls. I reached out to my

customers and inform them of new stock. I now try to think of different

ways to advertise and promote my business, for example, I have made

business cards for the first time in his life. I have also made a display album in

which I display my products in an attractive way. I know all this is important

because it is part and parcel of marketing. I did not know this before.”

Howhashisbusinessinfluencedhissociallife?

He used to quarrel with his wife in his previous business. Both of them were

working at the restaurant. Now there is peace at his home, and their income

has increased. “This business gives me more time to rest and be with my

family, and he is happier.”

Product pdisplay in Mr. Upole’s shopMr. Upole in his shop, on the table is the SIYB manuals

that he always reads.

Thechallengeshefaces

Six months after he established this business he was robbed, and he lost almost

half of his stock. He is currently struggling to gain momentum again. It is also

challenging to make customers understand the quality of his products. There is also

a negative notion on imported Chinese products. He also needs financial capital for

his business to comfortably meet his customers’ demands.

Hisfuturedreams

He wants to build his business into a wholesale furniture shop in the zone. He might

need to relocate the wholesale shop to an urban location where he can find more

customers. He wants to make sure that he sticks in this business and makes it grow.

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4. ZanzibarZanzibar city, the capital of Zanzibar (Unguja), a semi-autonomous part

of Tanzania, with a population of about eight hundred thousand people

boasts tourism and business as the main economic activity. There are more

than five SIYB trainers in Zanzibar and these have reached more than 300

hundred participants.

“From drug Addiction and Back” Mr. Saleh Awadhi

The Detroit Sober House in Zanzibar was established for the first time in

2008 by two Tanzanian youths Fatma and Selemani Maulid in collaboration

with two American Volunteers David and Magreth Lewis with the aim of

rehabilitating Zanzibari’s youth who are addicted to drugs. Currently the

Detroit Sober runs nine rehabilitation houses in Zanzibar and three in Dar

es Salaam, Tanzania.

Everybody at the sober house including the administration has once been

a drug addict.

Mr. Kassim Hamis, the house manager

notes that there are several steps in the

process of rehabilitation. All the steps

are challenging and patients tend to run

away in between, but their motto is ‘Keep

coming back.” They use all their effort to

help others because they have been like

them and they know what it means to be

a drug addict.

He says, however, the most challenging stage of rehabilitation is when a

patient moves out of the house. They definitely need something to do

otherwise they may go back to their former drug life. For a long time they

did not have an answer for this, until SIYB training program.

Mr. Kassim Hamis-The house Manager

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Mr. Saleh Awadhi (35) has stayed in the sober house for a year and three

months. Before that he was a drug user for more than ten years. Mr. Awadhi

received SIYB training under the Kazi Nje Nje program with Zanzibar trainer

Mwinyi. Since then Mr. Awadhi has taken a completely new leaf of life for

himself and for others.

“I had learned tailoring from my mother when I was young, and I used to

tailor until a few years ago when I entered a dark place – the unproductive

drug world. When the trainers told us to think of a business idea, I thought

of what I was capable of, I thought of my mother’s sewing machine at home,

and immediately decided that I would give it a try once more. He asked for

permission to bring his sewing machine to the house (sober house) and

the manager allowed him to do so.” He has since then started his tailoring

business.

Whatwasthebiggestlessonthathelearnedfromthetraining?

“Creativity! I have learnt that it pays to create unique products. I have also

learned the importance of looking for an adequate and reliable market

for my products. I have managed to get a lot of connections and business

networks, and now I know there is a bright future ahead of me”.

Whathashappenedsincethen?

I have been visited by many people who come to the centre because they

like my products. I have been fortunate to take part in several fashion shows

The Sober House billboard in Zanzibar

Mr. Awadhi in his clothing design workshop

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including the Zanzibar Fashion Week and the Zanzibar International Film

Festival. This year I have received an invitation to take part at the same

events. This will surely open the door to many others. I sell my products at

reasonable prices and hence make a good profit.” Saleh has been retained

at the centre as one of the tutors particularly on entrepreneurship and self-

reliance. “I enjoy helping others who also want to excel in life as I have.

Hashissocialvaluechanged?

“It definitely has. People used to see me as unworthy and incompetent, but

now they are charged with hope that I am doing something productive. My

family too is happy, because they thought they had lost me, it is like I have

come back from the dead. I am happy that I can now take care of my son.

Thechallengeshegets

”I have an old sewing machine. It is difficult to make new designs and outfits

with it when a different kind of decoration is needed. I also feel I need my

own business premise to distinct myself from the centre.”

Hisfuturedreams

“There is a new vocabulary that has recently entered in my head and I want

to become it, ‘an international fashion designer’” Mr. Awadhi says.

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5. ArushaArusha city, the capital of Arusha region is a business town and one of the

biggest tourist destinations in East Africa and Africa at large. The economy

of Arusha is dominated by the tourism and services sector. The city hosts

numerous small and large businesses such as banking, retail and commercial

enterprises. The city of Arusha is home to the largest manufactures in the

region with breweries, tyre manufacturing and agro-forest processing, and

a large pharmaceuticals market. In the city of Arusha there are three SIYB

trainers who have worked hard to reach about 600 beneficiaries.

“Unstoppable Determination”Amani Simon

Amani Simon (26) completed Form Four but did not perform well enough

to continue with his higher education. After one year working at the Arusha

Nazi Hotel he was no longer happy with the pay and the general working

conditions. He desired to establish his own business but didn’t know how

and where to start.

HowhegothisbusinessIdea

Amani quit his job at the hotel, and, armed with little capital but a lot of

ambition, he went on to establish a paper bag business where he would

buy papers from stationary shops and make small paper bags to sell to

pharmacies where they would use them to pack medicine. The business was

doing ok but it was not bringing in enough profit as he would have wished

to see. He had always dreamed of establishing a unique cosmetics shop

and offer services which other similar traders did not. When he joined the

SIYB training, trained by Stanley Magesa, he pursued this idea. The trainer

helped him do a critical analysis of the idea and see if it could bear fruits.

The analysis came out positive.

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Amani established a cosmetics shop named

“Spots Beauty” at Kaloleni area in Arusha. In

his shop he sells cosmetics and also offers

beauty consultations. He offers free make

up services to all customers that come to

his shop to buy make-up.

He has employed a young lady named

Maurine who studied hair dressing and

beauty at VETA.

The street that the shop is located has a number of hair dressing saloons

and is visited by many girls and women who visits the shop and buys the

products and services.

“Giving free make-up consultations is one of the marketing strategies that I

learned from the training program. It really does not cost a lot and it brings

in a lot of customers. Small incentives like this can really change the outlook

of a business, but entrepreneurs need to first learn how to do it” Amani says.

HowSIYBtraininghelpedhim

Amani was generally very inspired by the SYB training program, and he

wanted to take action immediately. He learned about the mistakes that

other people make in their businesses, and he was keen not to repeat them.

His business plan guided him on how he should do his market research and

marketing. A guest speaker from Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) who

came to speak on the topic of legal responsibilities of a business during

the training encouraged him that it actually wasn’t as difficult to register

a formal business as he had thought. He was excited to understand how

to do the costing of his products and how to do his the financial planning.

“Surprisingly, I realized that the capital needed to establish my business

was quite affordable, and I could raise the money myself”. After the SIYB

classes he quickly acted. Two months later he opened his cosmetics shop,

“Spots Beauty”.

Mr. Kassim Hamis-The house Manager

25

Challengeshefaces

Amani says he initially faced difficulties with the procedures of registering

the business. However, the networks that he had developed during the

training helped him. He tried to access a loan from financial institutions, but

he couldn’t. He believes that there is still un-conducive financial support in

the country that should more easily provide help to young entrepreneurs to

access financial services.

Hisfutureplans

His dream is to build his business into a complex of shops with a cosmetic

shop, beauty parlor, massage center, and a skincare clinic for both men and

women. He would also like to expand his cosmetics shop into a wholesale

shop where he would buy in bulk from Nairobi and abroad and sell to

retailers in Arusha and nearby towns. He also plans to register for evening

classes until he qualifies for an MBA.

Christine Joseph (25) participated in the SYB training program through the influence of her friend. Although she showed little interest at the beginning, she eventually fell in love with the training and became more and more active. But then there was one problem she says, she initially didn’t have any passion to venture into business and she never thought of doing it at any point in time in her life. “I only thought of getting a reputable job to earn a salary.”

After a pep talk with the trainer, Christine decided that she would give business a try. She said she had saved some money from her salary and that she would use it to start a small business. Which business, she didn’t know. After some time of thinking, she decided that it was to be a stationary shop. Being a secretary she already had some knowledge, experience and connections in that field. “Starting my business was like a miracle. Until I stepped foot into my shop for the first day of work, I did not believe that I had done it. Now I believe that I am a business woman, and I make a lot of effort to compete

“Learning to get what you want”Christine Joseph

26

with others who are talented in business” Christine says.

Howdidthetraininginfluencehertostartabusiness?“It boosted my self-esteem” she says, “for the first time I was exposed to things that made me feel worthwhile. It helped me discover that business was a reliable and possible activity. It made me more confident.

How did she start, and why astationaryshop?

Christine started with her desktop computer that she had at home. She hired a shop for three months and bought a printer. Her job was to type and print people’s secretarial work. As time went she started to bring in other things and the shop began to grow bigger and bigger. Christine has since hired two employees.

Howhasherbusinessinfluencedhersociallife?“I can make my own decisions, including what time I go to work and what time I return back home. Above all, I can plan how much I want to earn depending on my marketing, I can now support my family and plan for my future”.

Whatdoessheplanforthefuture?Christine says “independence is the most important thing for a young girl so I am employing all efforts to sustain this business. I want my shop to grow until it becomes a wholesale shop”. I think I will also involve myself in another kind of business, particularly a restaurant.” The reason is because she loves cooking and she thinks she can make attractive food for her customers. She also thinks there is an untapped market for organic food restaurants in the area.

Ms. Christine entering her stationary shop

Christine’s employees John and Sabina

working in the shop

27

6. Dar es SalaamThe City of Dar es Salaam is the country’s largest and richest city serving as

an important economic centre. The Dar es Salaam Region has a population

of more than 4 million inhabitants. Dar es Salaam is the country’s major

trade hub and industrial centre. Many big shops and service businesses

are located in the city centre at Kariakoo and Posta. The city is however

concentrated with small businesses almost everywhere including in the

shanty towns where majority of its population resides. This however doesn’t

stop many youth around the country from migrating to Dar es Salaam with

the hope of finding a better life.

“Arriving at your life-time dream”Max William Samale

Max is a very determined man. He dropped out from school when he was

in Form Three. He has tried several businesses in his life but encountered

a number of obstacles. The last business he was involved in before he

started his current one was in mining Tanzanite at Mererani- Arusha. He

stayed in the mines for more than five years, got some money, but did

not do anything tangible because of what he calls “lack of focus”. With the

influence of his parents, who were worried about him, he quit the mining

business and came back to Dar es Salaam. Luckily he had informally learned

how to do welding from his friend who had a welding business; He decided

to involve himself with welding again at his friend’s workshop.

Then Max met an SIYB trainer in Dar es

Salaam who invited him to his training

program, which he now describes as “a

Life Changing experience”

How was the training different to

him?

Previously I had attended a number of

entrepreneurship training programs, Max in the office at his workshop

28

some of which I paid a lot of money for. In one of the programs they

taught thousands of us in a single venue how to make shampoo, soap and

batik clothes in like an hour. How could thousands of people learn the

same business? Who will sell to who, I thought to myself? So I thought all

entrepreneurship trainings were of that nature, and I decided that I was not

going to waste neither my time nor money to attend any of other.”

That was until he heard of the ILO SIYB training. He attended because he

thought it might have something different, and it surely did. For the first

time he was pleasantly surprised. He felt self-aware and was taught on the

key principles of business like marketing, business planning and costing.

Immediately he decided “I’m going to have my own business”.

For the next three months Max worked hard with the aim of saving some

money to establish his own enterprise. He rented an office and bought

the raw materials he needed to start with. He then resigned from his

friend’s enterprise and started his own business. He invested in creativity,

good customer care, and proper marketing. Now he is able to get a lot of

customers. Below are some of the products that he makes.

Max says after the training he reflected on his life, and he went back to the

dreams he had when he was young. He felt that he could still make them

possible. He also thought of helping other young people whose dreams had

faded. That is why at his workshop he has three employees and four trainees

who work and also learn to make their dreams a reality.

Products at Max’s workshop

29

Whathaschangedinhissociallife?

Owning his business has come with its perks - respect, trustworthiness and

maturity. He makes more money and he can decide what he wants on his

own. Helping people who need his help has been the most fulfilling part for

him.

Thechallengeshefaces

He says a new business is always challenging, you need to look for new

customers and make sure that you satisfy their needs. “Sometimes I don’t

get customers at all for a long period of time, but the SIYB training has

instilled in me the courage to move along, with these challenges.”

Wheredoeshewanttoseehimselfinanearfuture?

“I would like to own a big workshop and a showroom where I would display

the products that we make. I would also like to turn my workshop into a

learning facility for other young people who have ambitions like mine”

30

The town of Kibaha is the capital for Coast (Pwani) region. It is the closest

town to Dar es Salaam and it grows in business with that advantage of being

close to the country’s biggest trade centre. Unlike Dar es Salaam however,

Kibaha has some uninhabited land which can be used for agricultural and

animal husbandry. Because of that Kibaha is the host to many agricultural

producers and herders especially of poultry products whose biggest market

is the city of Dar es Salaam.

The Golden Egg project was pioneered by Mariam Paul Mbogoni, 32, married

and a mother of three kids. Mariam attended the SIYB training in Kibaha

under the influence of her friend who had attended it earlier. She was trained

in Kibaha by Mary Francis and Tunsime Kyando. Before Mariam attended the

training she was a house wife who kept a few domestic chickens mainly for

family use. After attending the training program she decided she would do

poultry as a business.

“Considering my situation I thought poultry farming was the easiest

business that I could do. I had done it locally for years and I am passionate

about it.”

”After the training, I found out that it was more expensive to start up a

chicken business than what I had anticipated. The chicken needed a lot of

food and medication, neither of which I could afford.” Mariam then came

across a group of American Volunteers who were ready to help groups

of women who had tangible business plans. She immediately organized

a group with her neighbours and presented the same business plan that

she wrote in class during the SIYB training. “They were impressed with the

plan as it was professionally written. They gave us enough capital to begin

with one hundred egg chickens”. Other members of Mariam’s group include

Rispa John Omeme (31), Habiba Said Upunda (29) Leah Samson Kusenha

(33) and Asha Said Yeru (48).

Whataretheydoingtoimprovetheirproject?

Mariam is trying to impart what she learned from the training to her

business partners. She teaches them how to find markets and negotiate for

7.Coast Region (Pwani-Kibaha) “Golden Opportunity in the Mothers’

Hands”- The Golden Egg Project

31

better prices. This has helped the group has become courageous, enough

so that they confronted a difficult customer who was paying them very

low prices for the chickens. They cancelled his contract and went on to

get another buyer who gave them a better price, and les problems. Mariam

credits all this to what she learned from the SIYB training.

Whatarethechallengesthattheyface?

Their main challenge is when the chickens get sick. None of the group

members are skilled to treat the chickens and hence have to call on the local

specialist and buy expensive medication. Housing the chicken is also an

issue; they currently only have one house for all the chickens which means

they are not able to add new chickens until they sell the ones available.

Whatdotheygetfromthisbusinessandhowhasithelpedtheirfamily

lifesofar?

They collect five trays of eggs a day; they sell each tray for twelve thousands

shillings, (about eight dollars). This means they make sixty thousand a day.

Half of that money is used to buy chicken food and medicine, and the rest

they can save. None of them have had an income like this before and they

are thinking even bigger, “If we had twice the number of chickens that we

have now, things would be even better”. They are now able to take good

care of their families and take their kids to school. People in the village

respect them and come to them for advice.

Whataretheirfutureplans?

“Our plan is to increase the number of chickens so that we can divide them

amongst ourselves so each group member can branch out with her own

business. In time we would also like to give some of the chickens to other

women who have also wanted to venture into the poultry business. We

would like to see almost every household around our area having their own

project as there is an abundant market.

Members of Golden Egg Project displaying

eggs that they have accumulated in a day

Chicken that The Golden Egg Project keeps

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READ MORE ABOUT US

The Unleashing African Entrepreneurship initiative is a partnership between the Africa Comission,The Youth Employment Network (YEN) and the International Labour Organization (ILO)

implemented by the Youth Entrepreneurship Facility

CONTACT USYouth Enterpreneurship Facility

International Labour OrganizationKazi House, Maktaba Street

P.O. Box 9212Dar es Salaam

www.yeafrica.org

United Republic of TanzaniaEmail: yefafrica@ilo.org

www.ilo.org/daressalaam