THE Youth who participated in the 2022 Youth Expo, organised jointly by the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation (JMKF) and the United Nations Association (UNA) Tanzania, have called upon more economic institutions in the country to empower more youth on initiating and managing projects.
The two-day event was held recently in Dar es Salaam and brought together 150 youth from different parts of the country.
Precious Vicent from Precious Foundation, who is one of the youth who attended the event, said she had been encountering a number of obstacles in her efforts to establish her new project.
“The challenge I face most of the time when I go to some of those institutions seeking assistance on how to develop my project was being told that I am too young to own such a project. This is very discouraging, it is time our society starts to value young people’s initiatives “, she said as several other youth expressed the similar remarks.
Adolescent and Youth Development Coordinator at the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation (JMKF) Mr. Nicholaus Luoga said that majority of the youth in the country are lacking basic foundations on how to start and manage their projects.
“Through working with youth groups, we have noticed that most of the youth are very eager to form their own businesses and projects but they do not know how to go with the processes and who they should contact,” he said.
In realising this fact, he said, JMKF and UNA Tanzania prepared the event for the youth who are owning and managing different projects with the aim of equipping them with skills on project management.
He said, “In this event, we have invited experts from Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA), National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC) and other private firms who will teach the youth the processes of launching and running their own projects.
He mentioned that, participants would also learn how to interact with other sources, business formalisation and how to seek funds for launching and growing their projects.
For her part, UNA Tanzania Communications Officer Ummilkheri Yasini said that such events will be organised in each year so as to reach out to more youth in the country.
According to JMKF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vanessa Anyoti, the topics in the training programme were proposed by about 50 youth from private sector and non-governmental organisations.
