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Jun 21st, 2007 - 08:15:16 |
Kaanaeli Kaale
JK`s billions benefit 20,000 business entrepreneurs
2007-06-21 10:13:02
By Lusekelo Philemon, Dodoma
Over 20,000 business entrepreneurs across the country have benefited from the government empowerment fund, popularly known as JK`s billions, Parliament heard yesterday.
Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development, Jeremiah Sumari observed that as of May 31, this year, about 21,786 business entrepreneurs had benefited from the loans disbursed countrywide.
The minister was responding to a question posed by George Lubeleje (Mpwapwa, CCM) who had wanted to know the total number of people who benefited from JK`s 21bn/- fund.
``Through NMB and CRDB banks about 17,970, 046, 659/- was given to the beneficiaries across the country as loans,`` he observed.
He told the MPs that the exercise was still going on through the two banks.
``Up to May 31, this year, about 594 business entrepreneurs in Dodoma had benefited from the loans, which is equivalent to 243, 269, 333/-,``he added.
From the amount, the minister said, Mpwapwa District alone got a total of 48,650,000/-.
``The procedures for acquiring the loans have been simplified and made more people turn up for these loans to improve their business projects,`` he explained.
He said even the interest rate charged on these loans was very low just to ensure that people carried out their economic activities and get out of poverty.
According to Sumari, under the JK?s 21bn/- fund, the interest rate was 10 per cent and the beneficiaries were not required to furnish banks with their business plans.
However, he admitted that there were areas where these two banks had not yet reached, hence it became very difficult for people living in such areas to access the loans.
``In order to reduce the problem the government, in collaboration with Bank of Tanzania, is trying to see on how we can use small-scale financial institutions in the regions to provide these loans for people living in those areas where NMB and CRDB are not there,`` he said.
He noted that the exercise of identifying the small-scale financial institutions would involve local government authorities before signing contracts with them.
The minister said the government was trying to evaluate the general exercise to see the pros and cons so as to improve the service in future.
SOURCE: Guardian
Jun 21st, 2007 - 08:13:55 |
Kaanaeli Kaale
Dar-based small traders demand business training
2007-06-21 10:10:01
By Felix Andrew
An increasing number of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam have demonstrated their insatiable penchant for business skills and have requested Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to provide helping hand.
In the latest development, a number of traders from Tandika township, Temeke District in Dar es Salaam city have requested the TRA to conduct regular training seminars on entrepreneurial ethics in order to enable them run businesses efficiently and be more conversant with the Authority?s requirements.
TRA Dar es Salaam region has for some time now been conducting a series of business training seminars for some SMEs whose aim was to educate them on the basics of organizing businesses as well as paying taxes accordingly.
The latest two-day business ethics seminar was conducted over the weekend by TRA officials and attracted about 30 traders from various areas in Tandika suburb.
A seminar participant Zuwena S.Said contended that during the round-up hours that training was ?very fruitful? as she had come learn new business skills she was ignorant of since getting to business about five years ago.
``Before my attendance to this seminar, I was totally unaware of the reasons that may lead a running business to collapse, or the appropriate taxes I am supposed to be paying. Right now, I am quite conversant about all these issues, she said.
Zuwena, who retails used electronic items, further proposed that TRA should conduct even more seminars for the benefits of the revenue body and traders themselves.
On his part, Ebinezery Ngowo, who owns a guesthouse within Tandika, said lack entrepreneurial knowledge is one of the leading factors for the collapse of small businesses.
He however, took up an issue with financial institutions for deny their reluctance to provide loans to SMEs and so hinder rapid development of the domestic economy.
Senior Taxpayer Service and Education officer, Temeke Tax Region, Augustino Baitenkene, promised that TRA would continue providing seminars to various SMEs in the region.
Apart from entrepreneurial ethics, the objective of such seminars is to make SMEs understand the taxpayer charter, the means of registering businesses and modality for calculating income taxes.
SOURCE: Guardian
Jun 21st, 2007 - 08:07:38 |
Kaanaeli Kaale
Over 20,000 entrepreneurs get empowerment loans
DailyNews Reporter
Daily News; Thursday,June 21, 2007 @00:05
UNTIL May 31, this year, a total of 21,789 small scale entrepreneurs had received 17.9bn/- in loans from the National Microfinance Bank and the CRDB bank, the Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development, Mr Jeremiah Sumari, said yesterday.
The deputy minister was answering a question floated in the National Assembly by Mr George Lubeleje (Mpwapwa – CCM) who wished to know the amount of money already loaned out to applicants out of the one billion shillings allocated to each region in a loaning scheme.
Mr Lubeleje also wanted to know the number of applicants that have been given the loans in Mpwapwa District and the number of similar beneficiaries in Dodoma Region. Mr Sumari said a total of 119 people had received loans worth 48,650,000/- in Mpwapwa by May 31, this year.
In Dodoma, he said 594 loan applicants had received 243,269,333/- by May 31. He said loan application requirements have been eased to enable the poor to acquire capital for small scale businesses. He said the loans now do not require collateral.
Mr Sumari also said the interest has been trimmed down to 10 per cent and that no business write up was required. The deputy minister, however, said it was unfortunate that the two banks (NMB and CRDB) have no branches in some district headquarters and cannot reach villages.
He said the Bank of Tanzania plans to use smaller financial institutions such as SACCOS in order to reach loan seekers further afield. At the moment the Central Bank is working in tandem with local government agencies in its quest to enlist small financial institutions in the loaning scheme.
Jun 13th, 2007 - 10:49:21 |
Kaanaeli Kaale
JK launches competition plan to solicit business ideas
2007-06-13 08:59:41
By Hellen Nachilongo
President Jakaya Kikwete yesterday launched the first National Business Plan Competition known as `Believe, Begin Become`, aimed at soliciting innovative business ideas from among Tanzanians.
The business plan competition will provide training, mentoring and business development assistance to promising entrepreneurs in a bid to accelerate the country?s economic growth and development.
The competition has been organised jointly by Google Organisation, Techno serve and Rockefeller Foundation.
Launching the competition in Dar es Salaam, the President said that the initiative is expected to promote the country?s economic growth.
The President met Rockefeller officials at Davos early this year.
He said that during the meeting he exchanged ideas with them and agreed on areas in which they could cooperate with the Government of Tanzania.
`The competition I have just launched is the product of the discussions on how we could cooperate with Google organization and Techno to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs for Tanzanians,` he said.
He said that small and medium enterprises play a crucial role in job creation and thus reduce poverty and so ideas from competition will go a long way in improving the sector.
The President appealed to the competition coordinators to roll it out across the country instead of concentrating in the main cities; calling on the country?s private sector to be creative and innovative to reach out rural people.
The competition demonstrates commitment to promote private sector development, building entrepreneurs? capacity and empowering young Tanzanians, noted the President.
The Managing Director of Google.org, Linda Serge said during the launch that the competition is aimed at creating self-sustaining local businesses.
She said that the competition will promote and support sustainable entrepreneurship development and growth, and increase employment.
`The competition forms the basis for entrepreneurs, organizations, banks, investors, advisors and educators to improve leadership skills and general business environment,` said the Google official.
The competition seeks to stimulate creative entrepreneurial thinking among the diverse Tanzanian entrepreneurs with business ideas but have no courage to start one.
`Tanzanians have good business ideas but fail to take off for lack of facilities and capital. Business plan competition (BPC) will show the way,` she said.
She said that the BPC will create self-sustaining businesses, which are locally owned, managed and funded through ongoing private sector support.
According to the official, the organization has initiated talks with banks to accept business plans prepared in Kiswahili language.
Top 250 applicants of the competition are expected to attend a one-day entrepreneurship training in Arusha and Dar es Salaam.
Prizes range from USD8, 000 to 20,000 in seed capital for the top 10 winners, and the top twenty finalists will each receive `aftercare` business development services worth USD10,000 to ensure they have support and tools necessary to turn their business plans self-sustaining and profitable.
`Out of the total, top 20 winners will have a three-week face-to-face meeting with project consultants,` according to Serge.
SOURCE: Guardian
Jun 13th, 2007 - 10:47:42 |
Kaanaeli Kaale
3,469 SACCOS already registered - Minister
Daily News Reporter in Dodoma
Daily News; Wednesday,June 13, 2007 @00:04
UNTIL May 31, this year, there were 3,469 registered Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCOS), the Deputy Minister for Planning and Economic Empowerment, Mr Gaudence Kayombo, told Members of Parliament here yesterday.
Mr Kayombo said leaders and members of SACCOS groups have received management and operational skills from various state and private institutions. These include Rural Financial Services Programme and the College of Business Education.
The Rural Financial Services Programme has been active in ten regions of Mbeya, Ruvuma, Kilimanjaro, Rukwa, Dodoma, Morogoro, Iringa, Arusha, Manyara and Shinyanga. The programme is under the Prime Minister's Office.
Until June 1, this year, a total of 3,250 committee executive officers from 554 SACCOS groups and 157,800 members from 669 SACCOS groups had received adequate training in organising and running SACCOS groups, Mr Kayombo told the legislators.
He also said the Savings and Credit Co-operative Union League of Tanzania (SCCULT) was also busy training SACCOS leaders and members. The CRDB Bank had also trained 55 SACCOS leaders and members.
He said this fiscal year the state intends to set aside funds that would be spent on training SACCOS members and small-scale entrepreneurs around the country. The money would be channelled through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives.
He was responding to a question raised in the House by Ms Jenista Mhagama (Peramiho-CCM), who wished to know the number of registered SACCOS groups in the country. She also wanted to know how the groups were benefiting from CRDB and NMB loans.
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