HON. ALI HASSAN MWINYI LAUNCHES UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTRE

The former President of Tanzania Hon. Ali Hassan Mwinyi cuts the ribbon marking the launch of the state of the art learning Resource Centre at the University of Dar es salaam last Saturday, the centre has been refurbished by the Rotary Clubs of Dar es salaam in partnership with Bank M. Others in the photo from left are The UDSM library Director Dr. Amina Kabudi, Bank M’s Deputy CEO Ms. Jacqueline Woiso,The Rotary Dar Marathon Board Chair Ms. Sharmila Bhatt and the Rotary District 9211 governor Robert Wagga Nsibirwa (right).

Bank M’s deputy CEO Ms. Jacqueline Woiso speaks during the official launch of the UDSM refurbished learning centre last Saturday at the UDSM library grounds. The learning centre has been built by the Rotary Clubs of Dar es salaam in partnership with Bank M Tanzania plc.

Dar es Salaam, August 29, 2015: Two marathons later, nearly 20,000 runners and over USD200,000 raised the newly refurbished and well equipped state-of-the-art Rotary Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania which has been built by the Rotary Clubs of Dar es salaam in partnership with Bank M Tanzania plc, it has been launched. It is geared towards improving the quality of training offered to young people on how to set up and run successful businesses as part of the efforts by the University and the Rotary Clubs to tackle the high levels of youth unemployment in Tanzania.

The 600 sq. mts centre curved out at the library of the University of Dar es Salaam, which is the oldest public university in Tanzania, has been modernly refurbished and equipped with 80 thin client networked computers. Funds for the computers were provided through an additional grant by the Rotary Foundation.

The former president of the United Republic of Tanzania Hon. Ali Hassan Mwinyi who was the guest of honour during the opening ceremony took place last Saturday at the University of Dar es salaam, he said that “Youth are the future of any society and nurturing youth to become effective leaders of tomorrow in all segments of life is therefore critical. Like many other countries, Tanzania has a very young population wherein according to the 2012 census, 44% of the population is below the age of 15. At the same time Tanzania, like other developing countries in Africa, is facing enormous economic challenges. Aid dependency in Tanzania, though decreasing over the years, is still relatively high and donors are shifting emphasis in development cooperation towards private sector development. In this context, the need to promote youth entrepreneurship is critical. The overall unemployment rate in Tanzania is estimated at about 14.9 % and is more pronounced amongst the youth where 60% of the unemployed are aged between 15 and 35 years”.

“Two years ago, when Rotarians told me about this current initiative of setting up a Rotary Entrepreneurship and Resource Center at the UDSM to further augment the facilities at the University of Dar es Salaam, I was very impressed and see it as an excellent example of how society at large can be supportive of our educational establishments and of youth in general, said Hon. Mwinyi.

According to the Rotary Country chair for Tanzania and the chair of the Rotary Marathon Ms. Sharmila Bhatt said, “Supporting entrepreneurship among young people is extremely important to Tanzania, which like many other developing countries in Africa is facing enormous economic challenges including high levels of poverty and youth unemployment”.

“The overall unemployment rate is estimated at about 14.9 % and is more pronounced amongst the youth where over 60% of the unemployed are aged between 15 and 35 years. Entrepreneurship can be a driving force of the much needed economic growth to reduce the high poverty and the unemployment rates as the youth are transformed from job seekers to job creators”, Sharmila concluded.

Bank M who are the main partners, the Bank’s Deputy CEO Ms. Jacqueline Woiso commented that “Bank M has partnered with Rotary clubs of Dar es Salaam in various initiatives and today we can stand for the immense impact we have jointly created in the society. However, these achievements would have not been successful without a great team of Rotarians working around the clock and devoting their time to make such dreams a reality, the various institutions in the public and private sector and individuals who believed in the vision”.

The vice chancellor of the UDSM professor Rwekaza Mukandala while giving the vote of thanks to the Rotary clubs of Dar es salaam and Bank M, he appreciated this support and encourage the Rotary Clubs to build the state of the art Healthcare facility in the University of Dar es salaam, since the University is planning to have the health science college within the UDSM campus.

Each year, starting from 2009, all the six Rotary Clubs of Dar es Salaam come together to organize a marathon to raise funds for various charitable causes in the city. These include installing water and sanitation systems in poor neighborhoods and rehabilitating the cancer ward for children at the government run Muhimbili hospital. The last two marathons, 2014 and 2015 had an ambitious target, to support the University of Dar es Salaam’s Entrepreneurship Centre (UDEC).

The equipping the entrepreneurship centre with computers and internet will improve the quality of education offered by giving students access to online materials. It will also enable the centre to train more students.

The six rotary clubs of Dar es Salaam include: Dar es Salaam, Bahari, Oysterbay, Mzizima, Mikocheni and Dar North.