IFM tips entrepreneurs to cultivate investment mindset
THE Institute of finance management (IFM) has conducted a professional Business clinic for nearly 500 small-scale traders from the Dar es Salaam Region to cultivate an investment mindset.
The three days event which climaxed last Saturday also discussed ways of tapping opportunities in the emerging digital economy.
Representing IFM’s Rector Prof Josephat Lotto, at the climax of the event last weekend, the institute’s Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences Dr Grace Kamugisha said that most of those who attended the clinic is the commercial motorcyclist, petty traders, food vendors and youth graduates who are yet to secure job opportunities.
The event was part of giving back to society as IFM commemorates 50 years of its establishment.
“This professional clinic has been conducted to complement the government’s efforts of growing the economy through investment and therefore creating more jobs and looks to adding the number of local Tanzanians who are to grow from small scale to investors,” she highlighted.
Apart from gaining business knowledge from trained and experienced business experts, IFM also connected the small traders with financial industry players like banks, tax authorities and social insurance service providers so that they could learn about the opportunities available and how to tap potentials.
Dr Kamugisha said that most of the small-scale traders for example did not know how to access bank loans, and how to keep financial books and compute tax, a situation which led to frustrations and subsequently business collapse due to lack of such skills.
“Some small traders ended up being fined by tax authorities for failure to pay taxes on time or not paying at all. But with this training, such a situation won’t repeat itself for those who attended and hence, we can expect a business boom,” Dr Kamugisha added.
IFM which commemorates its 50 years of service, was established in 1972 with the capacity of admitting 72 students by then, but it has grown to having the capacity to admit more than 14,000 currently.
It has now increased from one course of accountancy by then, to offering thirteen different courses and apart from the Main Campus which is situated in the Dar es Salaam Region, it recently managed to have other campuses in Dodoma, Mwanza and Simiyu, while the one in Geita region is up for maiden opening the next academic year.
