Tanzania: Local Entrepreneurs Kill Two Birds With One Briquette

By Staff Writer

WHEN he started producing improved stoves and briquettes in 2000, many Tanzanians were not aware of what he was doing.

But times are changing and now Kuja na Kushoka Tools Manufactures sell them in

Dar es Salaam and many other regions. People like them they are working hard to keep up with demand. He is now earning a steady income while protecting environment, as by producing briquettes people stop cutting trees for charcoal.

Mr Leonard Gabriel Kushoka (50) is the leader and founder of Kuja na Kushoka Tools Manufacturing Group (KKTMG). He started up his business after ordinary level education and vocational training where he did machine fabrication.

During his studies he did practical training at Kilimanjaro Machine Tools, where he acquired practical machine fabrication skills. Then in 2000, he organised a group of nine youth and started working with them to make improved stoves, which they sold to market traders who retailed them in Tabora.

The group was legally registered in 2013. The main products made by the group are bio briquetting machines, tobacco leaf driers, efficient cooking stoves and carbonised biomass briquettes. Mr Leonard started to expand to Dar es Salaam, the largest market for charcoal.

He however found that selling directly to individuals or groups was very difficult. He approached Dar es Salaam City Council and sold to them the idea of selling briquetting machines to groups of women and youth to create jobs and address the challenge of use of charcoal.

The City Council agreed to give loans to groups of youth and women to buy the machines. Leonard and his team trained these groups on briquette production. However, the groups could not repay the loans because they could not sell the briquettes produced, claiming that the market was not ready to change to use briquettes.

Leonard decided to establish briquette selling centers in Dar es Salaam, which buys briquettes from his machine customers at 300/-to 350/-per kilogramme and resell at 500/-. Leonard set up the first distribution center at Ubungo Bus Terminal and organised a huge launch ceremony with a lot of publicity, which was officiated by the City Director.

Kuja na Kushoka is providing stoves to food vendors at and around the bus terminal, who are willing to buy the briquettes to stimulate demand for the briquettes.

Moving up the ladder, wins Champions of Charcoal Alternatives (CCA)

In 2018 Mr Kushoka participated in Charcoal Alternatives Competition and scooped the 1st Prize which is worth 300m/-.

Shell Exploration and Production Tanzania and the Vice-President's Office (Environment and Union Affairs) are jointly supporting this project whose aim is to contribute to reversing deforestation by promoting production and use of charcoal alternatives.

The project started with a challenge, through which three winners were selected on the basis of potential to scale up their businesses were picked.

Kuja na Kushoka Tools Manufacturers Group based in Tabora won the first prize, followed by Space Engineering Company Limited based in Dar es Salaam, and the third was Mena Wood Briquetting Limited Company based in Mafinga.

Also they were awarded a chance to be trained and coached by Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) to scale up their businesses.

Achievements and future plans

By the end of 2017 Kuja na Kushoka tools manufactures had installed annual production capacity of 50 machines. The goal of Kuja na Kushoka is to produce and sell more machines to increase bio briquetting alternative charcoal production.

Kuja na Kushoka has offered seminars on usage of bio briquette to women in Mwanza and through YouTube video. The majority of Tanzanians have no electricity and depend on firewood and charcoal.

Deforestation is a major environmental problem, destroying the natural habitat of numerous species and increasing the devastation of flooding in rainy season.

Therefore, the briquette is a great source of energy for local communities. Compared to charcoal, briquettes are cheaper and can be used to cook for a family of five to six. It also generates fewer emissions, which means a healthier way of cooking.