On October 3rd , CEED Tanzania held the first CEED Taster in Dodoma, the new capital of Tanzania. The event was led by CEED’s first Chapter lead, Baptist Mnyalape, a Dodoma-based entrepreneur spearheading CEED’s efforts to catalyze a community in our first site outside of Dar Es Salaam.
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The CEED Taster is one of CEED’s latest innovations, crafted and perfected by CEED Global Directors Barbara Bregar Mrzlikar and Jovan Madjovski. The goal of a Taster is to allow entrepreneurs less familiar with CEED to opportunity to learn what CEED is all about at an event which models our offerings (peer groups, networking, diagnosis of stage of lifecycle). The approach has proven to be an effective and efficient marketing and recruitment tool in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Skopje, Macedonia; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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Over 50 entrepreneurs attended the Taster, representing small and growing businesses (SGBs) and was the first CEED Taster to be held in Kiswahili. The taster began with a presentation of the corporate lifecycle and associated pain points with guests identifying their pain points, both personally as entrepreneurs and pain points as a business. While attendees were able bond over the many common challenges associated with being an entrepreneur, CEED facilitators presented solutions by inviting special guests from the CEED network in Dar es Salaam to share how they have experienced and overcome many of these challenges and how they have leveraged the CEED community, modelling our peer to peer problem solving approach.
Over 50 entrepreneurs attended the Taster, representing small and growing businesses (SGBs) and was the first CEED Taster to be held in Kiswahili. The taster began with a presentation of the corporate lifecycle and associated pain points with guests identifying their pain points, both personally as entrepreneurs and pain points as a business. While attendees were able bond over the many common challenges associated with being an entrepreneur, CEED facilitators presented solutions by inviting special guests from the CEED network in Dar es Salaam to share how they have experienced and overcome many of these challenges and how they have leveraged the CEED community, modelling our peer to peer problem solving approach.
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CEED entrepreneurs, Elizabeth Swai, CEO of AKM Glitters, a poultry company and Archard Kato, Managing Director and Owner of Alko Vintages, a wine company, joined the meeting to offer their perspectives. They shared their long journeys towards the top of their respective industries. They both shared their thirst to learn more about things that are related to their businesses, as well as the importance of investing in their staff.
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To quote Ms. Swai, “One thing that I always try to do is get correct information on everything I am involved with. If it is about tax, I will go to the revenue authority. Sometimes businesses fail because of incorrect information.” Similarly, Mr. Kato, told the audience that he spends a few hundred dollars in books every year to stay on top of business trends.
To quote Ms. Swai, “One thing that I always try to do is get correct information on everything I am involved with. If it is about tax, I will go to the revenue authority. Sometimes businesses fail because of incorrect information.” Similarly, Mr. Kato, told the audience that he spends a few hundred dollars in books every year to stay on top of business trends.
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The event end with a mini-peer group session with small breakout groups where entrepreneurs were encouraged to share their problems with an empathetic audience, who have experienced many of the same challenges. The mini-peer groups were designed to model how an actual CEED peer group operates and how CEED can assist them on their journeys of personal growth as a leader and in their efforts to scale their businesses.
The event end with a mini-peer group session with small breakout groups where entrepreneurs were encouraged to share their problems with an empathetic audience, who have experienced many of the same challenges. The mini-peer groups were designed to model how an actual CEED peer group operates and how CEED can assist them on their journeys of personal growth as a leader and in their efforts to scale their businesses.
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Several attendees immediately requested to join the CEED Dodoma Chapter, and CEED Tanzania looks forward to many new applications in the days to come.
Several attendees immediately requested to join the CEED Dodoma Chapter, and CEED Tanzania looks forward to many new applications in the days to come.
