Government, Canadian agency seal SME empowerment pact

The government through the Ministry of Industry and Trade has entered into an agreement with a Canadian NGO to build the capacity of SMEs across the country through knowledge and skill transfer.

 

To effectively implement the initiative, the NGO, Canada Executive Service Organisation (CESO) has also entered into work partnership with SIDO, Tanzania Federation of Cooperatives (TFC) Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF). 

 

Working with these umbrella bodies, the NGO is able to identify eligible SMEs and partner them with expert volunteers from Canada.

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian over the weekend, Wendy Harris President of CESO who is in the country for the signing of the MoUs and visiting the NGOs various programmes said; “CESO has a unique operational model that vets the volunteers and comes up with a short list from which the beneficiary SME then selects their best fit with whom they are then paired.”

 

“Working with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and other State organs like SIDO and TFC CESO takes an inclusive approach to provide the services that the client is in need of,” she detailed.

The CEO also explained that more than offering grants and loans to SMEs, it is more important to transfer knowledge that they can in turn apply to meet their needs and in turn teach others creating a multiplier effect. 

 

In Tanzania, CESO is already working with groups in Arusha conducting beekeeping across 5 villages affording hundreds of villages and alternative income generating activity. They have also helped  women’s dairy group build a reputable value addition chain and form the Nronga Women Dairy Cooperatives in Kilimanjaro.

 

CESO is also implementing STRIVE (Strengthening Capacity through Innovation and Volunteer Expertise) project with SIDO to develop a Technology Development Center in Mbeya. CESO is also working with SIDO to transition into exploring core and non-core services to MSME (Micro Small Medium Enterprise) sector opportunities to raise sufficient income through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

 

With 80 per cent of its leadership being women, CESO is mainly funded by the government of Canada and since its inception in 1967 has completed more than 47,500 assignments focused on improving the economic and social well-being of people across more than 122 countries.