CAMFED Association entrepreneur & Learner Guide
5 minute read
I grew up in rural Tanzania with my parents, two brothers and one sister. My lasting memory of my childhood is of a family life shaped by poverty. Due to this, and the fact that we lived a long distance from my primary school, my education was far from secure. With the introduction of fees at secondary level, I had little hope of continuing at school.
Then I was selected to receive a CAMFED bursary. As well as paying my school fees, CAMFED provided me with books, school uniform, shoes, menstrual products and other essentials. I received this support for the duration of my time at secondary school. After I graduated, I joined the CAMFED Association—the pan-African network of women leaders educated with CAMFED support—in 2015.
I trained as a CAMFED Learner Guide, volunteering at my former school and delivering life and learning skills, as well as vital sexual and reproductive health information and psycho-social support, over a period of more than a year. Having experienced the challenges that disadvantaged children face, I could relate to the students, and, together with teachers and community members, support them to learn and thrive.
I have an agriculture business. I started because I have a love for agriculture. My parents have a farm.
Through education, I’m now fulfilling my potential as an entrepreneur and run a range of successful businesses—including mobile banking and a fruit farm. As a business game changer, I’m proud to be plowing back the benefits of my education by using my profits to support the most marginalized children in my community.
In recognition of the “social interest” I was paying as a Learner Guide, I gained access to an interest-free loan through CAMFED’s partnership with Kiva, helping me to launch my first business, a fruit farm. I grow pineapples and I’m able to sell 500-4,000 a month during the harvest season in October, November and December. In 2017 and 2018, I sold 6,000 pineapples to a juice factory. I also sell them at my local market.
From January to September, when I am waiting for my fruit to grow and ripen, I focus on the other businesses I run. My most profitable has been a clothing shop, with a turnover up to TZS 800,000 (around USD 280) per month. I also run a stationery shop, and started the first mobile money business in my community.
My advice to other young women in business is to be creative in a way that differentiates your businesses from others, adding a competitive advantage, and ensuring the businesses focus on addressing community problems.
My pinenapple harvest pictured at my farm in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
I use some of the profits from my enterprises to support vulnerable children to go to school. In 2018, I was able to support 122 children with food, uniforms, books and school fees. My success in business and my community philanthropy are just some of the many reasons that I was elected by my peers as Bagamoyo District Chairperson of the CAMFED Association.
Training received through the CAMFED Association has helped me to grow and improve my businesses over time. I bought two cows and use their manure to spread on my fields as fertilizer. I also learned how to keep records in business. However, I have encountered some challenges, including a competitive market for pineapples, as they are widely farmed. Though I built a storehouse, sometimes my fruit would turn bad before getting sold, as I have no means of refrigerating them.
In 2020, all of my enterprises were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted supply chains and meant my customers had less to spend on my goods. Responding quickly with innovative measures, I was able to adapt my businesses whilst also providing support for community members. For example, through my stationery business I was able to facilitate distance learning whilst schools were closed. I distributed materials to students at their homes, assessing their situations at the same time and making discounts for those in need. Having bought the supplies in bulk, I was able to ensure I didn’t make a loss even where I supported some children with free papers.
We saw reduced customers in our business and with school closing, we also had less physical contact as CAMFED Association members and with students. We had to refocus our energy and become more innovative.
Me (right) at my clothing shop with my employee, a fellow CAMFED Association member, during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.
My mobile money business was the first in my community and continues to be an important local resource.
At the same time, I saw an opportunity to expand my farm whilst the rainy season was in progress. I doubled the size of my pineapple farm from three to six acres, and also planted one acre of papaya.
The opportunity to attend a six-month agribusiness training program offered by Sokoine University of Agriculture Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative Society (SUGECO), helped me solve the challenge of incurring losses after harvesting pineapples.
I now make use of innovative and affordable technology, such as solar dryers, to add value to my pineapple crop. My business focuses on selling value-added, sorted and graded pineapples, and packing dried pineapples for both locally and international markets.
We train other small-holder farmers to dry pineapples in bulk and connect them with market opportunities. This creates a business solution, helping farmers strengthen their productivity and increase their market reach and profits. It also reduces post-harvest food loss, and is an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly solution to the problem.
My long term access to pineapple producers will make it possible for me to generate more revenue by producing additional products – including but not limited to pineapple jam, pineapple juice in cartons, pineapple soap and animal feed – within the coming years.
Climate-smart agriculture is the backbone of my business, and demonstrates my commitment to sustainable food production.
Pineapples and papayas are the main fruit crops I grow and process.
It’s great being able to provide healthy and value-added food products in my community and beyond. We regularly conduct learning visits and invest in customer feedback, as well as market assessments, to ensure our prices and products remain affordable yet competitive.
I am proud to be able to provide employment for members of my community, particularly other young women. I have three female employees and one male employee. In future, I hope to become an even greater merchant and to support hundreds more children in their education.
Tunainuana - OFFICIAL SELECTION MOUNTAINFILM 2024: This is the story of a girl from rural Tanzania and the rise of a sisterhood of change leaders across Africa. It's a message of hope and solidarity, that centers lived experience and community, and explores the power of female education to transform our world.
In part 1 of our blog series, ‘Crafting Change’, hear from three Tanzanian entrepreneurs Anita, Lidya, and Helina who are building thriving fashion businesses with their handcrafted designs, reinvesting in their communities and lifting others up.
I’m passionate about supporting other young women to succeed and have trained 15 of my fellow CAMFED Association sisters in baking.
Margaret Monaghan $10.9
Helen Lea $157
Julia Thompson $100
Joan Goldfeder $211
Bonnie Riggins $10.9
Michael Higgins $13
Cheryl Johnson $5.6
Amy Casciano $10.9
Valerie Turner £40
joyce Davidson $16.1
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