Establish information portal for enterprises, govt urged

By The guardian reporter

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW)

The government has been urged to launch enterprise information portal that would give entrepreneurs a wider choice before they invest in any sector so as to boost their income.

This was said at the weekend in Dar es Salaam by the Secretary General of Zanzibar Association for Youth Education and Empowerment (ZAYEE), Fatma Mabrouk Khamis, at the opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).

This year’s event was under the theme “Kujenga Mazingira Wezeshaji” which literally means “Creating an Enabling Environment for Investment”.

She said lack of enterprise information data base was one of the main challenges facing many entrepreneurs before they make a decision on investment.

Most new entrepreneurs do not have enough information about various sectors so it becomes difficult for them to decide in which areas to invest, she said.

“We urge the government to launch a special data base with all necessary information which would enable entrepreneurs to decide areas of investment,” she said.

She said Tanzania has a lot of investment opportunities but people have not utilised them to maximum due to lack of information.

Citing she, said the hospitality industry would play a crucial role if there would be more information for the upcoming entrepreneurs to use.

She said another challenge is lack of funding and poor infrastructure which has been hindering smooth development of entrepreneurs.

“Most entrepreneurs do not have adequate loans to run their business and infrastructures particularly rural roads are not in good condition, it is much better for the government and private sector to start investing in the area,” she added.

However, she hailed some organisations which have been at the forefront to support them in various ways namely CRDB bank, Jacana Partners and Grofin Tanzania.

For his part, the training manager of Tanza ICT Jumanne Mtambalike, said the GEW plays a crucial role in identify young entrepreneurs who have shown interest to make self development.

He said so far 1,400 entrepreneurs have been recruited and receive various training on how to improve business.

The main aim is to enable them have positive thinking and establish more enterprises which would provide employment to many Tanzanians, he said.

GEW Tanzania grouped its activities in two parts, whereby the first part ran from November 18 to 21, and exclusively centered on giving the participants a special treat of inspirational speeches which were delivered by prominent Tanzanian entrepreneurs drawn from various streams of business.

The second part of GEW Tanzania featured startup Weekend which ran from November 22 to 24. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN