Germany establishes modern hub to support local entrepreneurs
A GERMAN entrepreneur has rallied youths in Tanzania to get out of their comfort zones and confront life challenges.
Mr Michael Mronz, who chairs the Westerwelle Foundation, challenged young entrepreneurs in the country earlier this week to keep beyond their limits in realising their dreams.
“Keep pushing, determination is key even when there are ups and downs, winners are those who don’t despair,” counseled Mr Mronz before the launch of the state-of-the-art Westerwelle Startup Haus in Arusha.
The German entrepreneur said the nonprofit organization based in Berlin, Germany chose to invest in Tanzania due to a lot of potential found in the country.
Mr Mronz said the East African nation was a youth resources strategic location with many bright young people with amazing ideas.
“We hope to help entrepreneurs gain the necessary skills, know-how and network to bring their ventures to the next level,” he disclosed.
According to the Westerwelle Foundation chairperson, the organisation strives to provide a larger network and market outside Tanzania, thus creating impact to over 5,000 entrepreneurs.
Mr Mronz was confident that such an initiative will bolster ties between Germany and Tanzania.
The hub is result of a joint efforts between the Berlin based organization and Obuntu, a local youth innovation hub.
In his rejoinder, Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr John Mongella expressed his excitement in growing the regional entrepreneurship as a way of creating jobs and generating growth.
He said that it has been the government’s desire to see young men and women coming up with innovative ideas that are geared towards resolving societal issues. Tanzania becomes the third country on the continent to host such a modern hub, after Tunisia and Rwanda.
The country’s innovation ecosystem is now ranked fifth in Sub-Saharan Africa by the Global
Innovation Index (2021), the GDP has seen a strong average yearly growth rate of 6.5 per cent during the past 10 years (World Bank, 2021), and the number of startup hubs has increased from two in the early 2010s to more than 40 in 2021.
