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Youth Bank to train 50 entrepreneurs in Dar
2006-02-01 07:29:21
By Felix Andrew
The Tanzania Bank Youth Fund has started to train self employed young entrepreneurs on various techniques of doing business.
Speaking to The Guardian in Dar es Salaam, the Fund’s director, Salmin Ibrahim, said the one-month training would be provided free of charge to about 50 young entrepreneurs.
’We will train them on how to conduct business, especially on market and networking them under one umbrella’, he said.
They would also be trained on how to conduct business using the Internet and other means of communications, Ibrahim said.
The fund had collaborated with ward executive officers in all three districts of Dar es Salaam on how to recruit young entrepreneurs in their respective areas.
A research, carried out by the organization in various areas of the city shows that many entrepreneurs are engaging in small businesses that need support.
The Fund officials have started to train young entrepreneurs from Tandale area. More youths in Kinondoni municipality will be trained in the coming months.
Other batches of young entrepreneurs from Ilala and Temeke districts would be trained.
Later the training programe would be extended countrywide, Ibrahim said.
’After such training is completed, they will be provided with bank loans,’ he said.
’At the moment we are in the processing of establishing the bank specifically tailored for the needs of the young entrepreneurs,’ he stated .
Ibrahim said that an entrepreneur who would be having 250,000/- in his or her account, he or she would be given a loan worth 2.5m/-
’The interest rate to be charged on loans is set at 12 per cent per annum. As you can see this is the lowest interest rates charged as compared with interests charged by other banks. We have set it purposely to support young entrepreneurs,’ he said.
Nigeria had a similar bank, Ibrahim said, adding that the bank would provide credit to youth involved in agriculture, mining, forestry, fishery, industry, tourism, education and entertainment.
’Our bank will work together with local and international financial institutions for marketing of goods to be manufactured by the youth,’ Ibrahim said.
He said the bank had already been registered as a financial institution and its initial operations would start in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Coast regions.
Other regions that would get branches would be Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mbeya and Mtwara regions.
Later branches would be established in Iringa, Dodoma, Tabora, Singida, Shinyanga, Ruvuma, Rukwa, Lindi, Tanga, Manyara, Kigoma, Kagera and Mara regions, Ibrahim said.
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