Tanzania needs more entities dedicated to providing capital to new, viable business ideas for entrepreneurship courses taught at various colleges and universities to bring impact and spur industrialization.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Vice Chancellor of the Kampala International University in Tanzania (KIUT), Prof. Jamidu Katima, said graduates in entrepreneurship courses come out of colleges with good business ideas but most of them do not see the light of day due to limited opportunities to access capital.
If things remain as they are with passionate graduates left to fund their ideas from their own pockets or rely on commercial banks for loans, a lot of ideas that could industrialize the country and create much-needed jobs will continue dying year-in, year-out, he said. ’’As a nation we need to look at how we can help support beginner entrepreneurs take off. Some graduates come up with fantastic ideas but they are forced to follow one way which is bank loans and as you know interest rates are not friendly to new businesses.” he said.
“This is because we don’t have enough entities called start-up capital and venture capital to support new businesses. I know that COSTECH (Commission for Science and Technology) and VETA (Vocational Education and Training Authority) have initiated such Programmes but when candidates get out of these institutions, they still get stranded.”
As for the role providing education to Tanzanians, Prof Katima said it is big mistake to think of leaving that heavy burden to the government alone.
“Statistics show that this year some 1.5 million pupils were enrolled in standard one but only 89,000 joined various universities. This means the private sector has a role and duty to bridge the gap,” he said.
But the don argued that the focus should not be only about passing exams and getting emplacement as it seems to be right now but rather to provide problem-solving skills to listeners.
“We need a critical mass of well-trained Tanzanians to successfully push the wheels of the economy and hence development,” he said.
“Let us not focus on employment, let us focus on problem-solving skills for students. This will solve not only the unemployment problem but even the business-as-usual attitude which costs the nation dearly.”
As a developing nation, he said education for development is critical for Tanzania because even developed countries still invest heavily in education despite having attained higher levels of prosperity. “It is therefore important for us not to leave the responsibility to train citizens squarely on the shoulders of the government; the private sector has a part to play in training the young nation,” he said.
Prof. Katima said KIUT has adhered to requirements laid down by the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) and admission and learning continues at the institution as usual to support the government in providing quality education for Tanzanians.
Source: IPP Media (The Guardian Reporter)
