Future Forward: Youth Innovations for Employment in Africa challenge

THE CHALLENGE:

Ashoka and The MasterCard Foundation have launched the Future Forward: Youth Innovations for Employment in Africa challenge to find the next generation of changemakers with bold new ideas and projects - for young people by young people - that will increase employment opportunities in Africa.

We’re looking for young people, between the ages of 18-30, from sub-Saharan Africa to join this community and share their solution that is tackling youth employment issues. Top entrants, who submit their solution by the early entry deadline of October 15th or the final entry deadline of November 5, 2014, will be eligible for prizes including a monetary prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Ashoka Globalizer Summit in South Africa. At this Summit, winners will be connected to other innovators, partners, and investors, in addition to receiving mentorship and training to help their ideas and projects grow.

HELP FIND THE NEXT GENERATION OF CHANGEMAKERS:


We are reaching out to you because we are keen to create a network of innovators and partners. If you know of any individuals or organizations that would be a good fit for this challenge please reach out to my colleague Lauren Parnell Marino (lmarino@ashoka.org).

Help spread the word – attached you can find language that you could use to spread the word on your social media accounts, newsletters, and blogs. You can also help to spread the word using the attached e-card (for email and for facebook/twitter), or by joining the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #AfricaYouthFwd.

JOIN THE ONGOING CONVERSATION – Webinar on November 4th 8am ET:

We invite you to share insights in a dynamic ongoing online conversation which features disruptive solutions and innovations for youth employment in Africa. Catch up with past online panel conversations, blog series, twitter chats and youth insights here.

You can also join the conversation during the upcoming webinar in the ongoing webinar series. The next one will take place on November 4th at 8am ET. You can join the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #AfricaYouthFwd.

​Tweet to announce the webinar:
Shattering Myths and Talking Trends in Youth Employment Innovations. Let's discuss on 11/4! http://bit.ly/nov4ayf @Ashoka @changemakers

STAY TUNED

We’ll be developing an innovation guide and a toolkit to provide tips and other practical advice that equip people with the how-to’s for developing impactful solutions for youth employment. In the meantime, sign up for our listserv. And be sure to read about solutions, get to know innovators, and stay informed about the upcoming opportunities to engage at changemakers.com/futureforward.

"Having the right mindset and networking usurp talents in you." - Andrew Mahiga

"Before letting into a little bit about myself and my work, I’d like to share a life lesson that is something that I hope we as young people come to realize rather sooner than later. I also don’t want what I write afterwards to influence your perception of who I am and what I’m doing. As Tanzanians specifically, and Africans in general, we tend to quickly accept our fate – our situations at face value. We tend to pass the buck to people, things and situations – environments we grew in, schools we went to and situations. That type of thinking is very dangerous to ourselves and to the people around us. Everybody has personal battles which have nothing to do with the above mentioned circumstances.


I am Andrew Mahiga, Managing Director of Maanisha! (www.maanisha.co.tz). I was born in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and moved around the world soon after. I studied at Olympio Primary School in Upanga for 1st Grade then moved to Greenacres Boarding School in Kenya for 2nd Grade. My mother was awarded a Master’s degree scholarship to study in Australia. Subsequently, I completed my 3rd to 5th grades in Australia.

I returned to Tanzania to complete 6th and 7th Grades before going to Swaziland (Southern Africa) for 5 years of high school. My university education was in The City College of New York (U.S.A). I received a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies. University period was probably the most important time in my life. Not only did I discover my passion, but I also discovered myself – what made me happy, what made me sad, how I acted around people etc.


My globe trotting exposed to different cultures and mindsets with people around me influencing my perception. I developed a passion for marketing, media (and social media), advertising, fashion and branding.


So that is where I began volunteering and interning while studying and realized success has more to do with whom you associate with from whose brains you can pick up something."

Read the rest of the article here.

How to Overcome the Struggles of Being a Young Entrepreneur

Via Entrepreneur Magazine.



"Editor's Note: The Grind is a weekly column that asks a revolving cast of young founders to take us through the daily rigors of running a business, as well as offer up advice on how they achieved milestones or overcame challenges. Follow The Grind on Twitter with the hashtag #ENTGrind.

By: Sarah Haselkorn
Image credit: Geoff Story

Being a young entrepreneur definitely has its advantages, but there are also downsides. I developed the idea and the business plan for Green Bean, a healthy restaurant, during my sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis, Miss. At first, I kept it a secret, worried family and friends would tell me I was crazy for starting a business at such a young age.

When I decided to finally break it to my mom and dad, I remember sitting on the edge of their bed, nervous to tell them I was planning to take on such a huge endeavor. They could definitely sense my nerves. As I began to explain I wanted to open a restaurant, I surprisingly watched my mother's face soften. As soon as I told them my idea, my mom let out a huge sigh of relief and explained she was thrilled to discover I wasn't pregnant.

Telling my parents about my venture was only one of the many hurdles I faced as a teenage entrepreneur. As a young founder, particularly at a non-technical startup, it's extraordinarily tough to earn credibility. In a people-facing business where you're often relying on first impressions to succeed, it's even more difficult.

Although age is just a number, it does pose a variety of challenges for budding entrepreneurs. Here are some of the greatest adversities I faced, and how I overcame them:

1. Being taken seriously. Just like my parents' reaction, strangers were shocked when I told them I owned the business they just ate at.

Related: The Hidden Pain of Being an Entrepreneur

Customers would often ask me at the register if our location was a franchise. When I was able to speak knowledgably about the business, they'd inquire if I owned the place. Upon answering yes, the response was always, "Wow, you're so young!" I always laughed and shrugged it off. "You can do anything," I'd say. The trick is to never give anyone a reason to think you can't do it.

As a young entrepreneur, you have to work harder to prove yourself. You'll never be perfect, and you will make mistakes along the way. Fail gracefully, learn from your mistakes and address them with maturity. Confidence, coupled with unwavering humility, goes a long way.

2. Securing funding. For young entrepreneurs starting out, my first piece of advice would be to aim for a business that doesn't need a lot of capital, as it's really difficult to gain access to finances, especially with banks. Unlike VCs and angels, they require extensive personal credibility and financial history. However, launching a business that requires little cash to start up is not always possible.

For a business like mine where raising VC money would be next to impossible and the need for a lot of upfront capital was required, it felt logical to turn to a bank. Yet, it wasn't an easy path.

The best tip would be to work your assets. The easiest route is family and friends. Pitch yourself, your smarts and your dedication in hopes they will support your financially. Even if they're not willing or able to directly invest money, they might consider signing on a loan with you to help boost your credibility with banks."

Read the rest here.

Tanzania: Local Media - Complex Challenges, New Opportunities

Via AllAfrica.



"THIRTY-THREE years of professional life in journalism in Tanzania is a good time to look back to the past; to take stock of how life has treated you and consider on your next move, if you have one at all. Today's media challenges are quite different from the ones that the previous generation of few Tanzanian journalists faced in the last half of the 20th century.

This is a new setting with the competitiveness of the 24-hour channels, the compulsion to "breaking news"--and many channels openly take credit for it, so as to woo more viewers--the "hunger" of the corporate houses to use the media for purposes different than the dissemination of news. Gone is the era of using typewriters, which made newsrooms noisy in those good old days. New gadgets have replaced the oldfashioned tools which were being used in news collection, processing and distribution. Since the early 1990s, Tanzania has quickly adopted new technology in this computer age, which facilitates quick access to information, unimagined in the past. There's also the social media, which enables ordinary people to express their views. This is a welcome trend but it also poses a huge challenge on how to prevent, without inflicting a censorship of views, irresponsible damage to reputations. The social media - hitherto unthinkable in the era before globalisation, has also changed the rules of journalism and politicians are increasingly getting away from the interview mode of facing journalists and answering questions which could be uncomfortable and resorting instead to having their "one-way," say, through the twitter or the blogs.

Just as politicians are supposed to be accountable to their voters, who elect them to power, so also are journalists accountable to their readers and viewers for the accuracy of information they provide. That was the traditional view. After all, it is information which helps people formulate their opinions, so critical in a democracy. But the younger journalists today do not want to be lectured about how good the old times were. It is also true that the challenges today have become that much more complex. Undeniably, journalism is today gaining interest from better educated recruits in the country. Bigger private newspapers have recruited fresh university graduates for in-house training or training on the job. It has become common for lawyers, engineers, economists, social scientists, mass communication scholars and agronomists to choose journalism as their profession."

Infographic: Africa From Top To Bottom

For the past decade, Africa's economy has been growing, on average, by 5.3% per year. But that's not the full measure of a continent. A recent study looked at 4 different pillars derived from 88 different indicators to help determine which African countries are succeeding and which ones are still struggling.


Source: Africa From Top To Bottom

Via Master of Finance Organization.

'The Untold Story of Tanzania's Resource Curse.' - by Robert Ahearne

ANALYSIS



The recent protests in southern Tanzania were triggered by grievances regarding natural gas discoveries, but regional discontent has deep historical roots.

On 22 May, 2013 protests and street battles erupted in the southern Tanzanian region of Mtwara in response to the government's handling of mineral resource wealth and the contracts it has signed with various international actors.

The army and police were sent to quell the unrest, using teargas and live rounds, in the main southern town of Mtwara and in Mikindani, a smaller town around ten kilometres away in which at least three people died. Government and state-friendly media sources have typically portrayed the events as thoughtless violence and wanton criminality. However, this detracts from a widespread and more urgent malaise about how the government has handled the discovery of natural resources.

The 'hidden agenda' against the south

Until recently, the Mtwara region, on the border with Mozambique and looking across the Indian Ocean, did not receive much attention from the media, multinational corporations or the Tanzania government. The region had been best known for its Makonde wood carvings, its cashew nuts, and little else, and was often perceived as somewhat traditional or backwards.

It is common for Tanzanians from other parts of the country to refer to those from the south - which conventionally means the Ruvuma, Lindi, and Mtwara regions - as washamba, which can be literally translated as 'farmers' but is often used as a pejorative term more accurately translated as 'hicks' or 'peasants'.

These regions are not particularly well connected to the rest of the country, especially owing to the fact that the main trunk road south from Dar es Salaam remains tantalisingly unfinished - in spite of a promise made at independence in 1961 that the road would be completed quickly.

Many view this physical detachment as symbol of southern dislocation from the broader history of Tanzania, and some contend it is the result of deliberate ostracism by central government. Some have argued that this marginalisation has an historical precedent, a 'hidden agenda' against the south that apparently followed the Maji Maji rebellion against German colonial rule (1905-7).

Read the rest of the story here.

"What the youth could do to bring change in Tanzania." by Julius Bwahama

Dar es Salaam. The fight for the independence of the so-called Tanganyika on December 9, 1961, was peacefully led by Julius Nyerere, Rashidi Kawawa and Abeid Karume. Then followed Jomo Kenyatta and Milton Obote who fought for that of Kenya and Uganda respectively.

This proved that the youth of Africa were indeed men and women of valour who united to turn the dark pages of colonialism into a free continent. They were followed by a generation of old men; they say wisdom goes with grey-hair. True, they served their nations and saw their countries through the cold war while others went through bloody coups and civil wars, but Tanzania stood firm as a shining star of peace. The old wise men of Africa Julius Nyerere, Yoweri Museveni, Kenneth Kaunda and Nelson Mandela will always be remembered for their selfless pursuit of the good things for their nations.

This decade celebrates a change. The recent years record of Joseph Kabila, Barack Obama and Uhuru Kenyatta has put the young blood again on the scene. This time around it has been in style for there are not only presidents but also young Members of Parliament. Following the disputed elections of 2008 that led to the death of more than 1,000 people, most Kenyans must have had their fingers crossed when presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta was announced winner. Their worries became worse when his rival Raila Odinga contested the results by filing a petition at the Supreme Court.

However, this time violence was not the answer to election disputes as candidates preached peace and tolerance before their supporters.

The 2013 Kenya General elections has shown a good example to African countries where disputed election results have often led to bloodshed. A case in point is the 2007 election run-off in Sierra Leone and that of Zimbabwe in 2008. The Kenya elections have also shown us that this is no longer the time for old grandpas such as Robert Mugabe, 89, of Zimbabwe to lead their countries; rather it is era of the youth. At 50 President Kenyatta may not be a very young man, but he epitomises the new trend of more and more youngsters venturing into politics.

According to Kawe MP (Chadema) Halima Mdee,35, the recent elections in Kenya have significant lessons that Tanzania politics could learn from, such as live debates of candidates. “President Uhuru Kenyatta, his main rival Raila Odinga and others took part in debates. These give the politicians a chance to represent their policies on social, economic and political issues. “However, in Tanzania debates are not mandatory, thus voters cannot easily identify the candidate with policies that can solve their problems. At the end of it all they choose candidates according to their big names rather than their potentials,” explains Ms Mdee. She says the new constitution of Kenya has given an opportunity for unsatisfied candidates to challenge presidential results in court. Thus at the end of it all the real loser is not left grieving, which is not the case in Tanzania, she explains.

“For Kenyatta coming into power, it is clear that the youth can also take very high posts in politics because at 50 he is not very old. “Being a bit young gives you the chance to do more research and thus bring issues that affect the people. It should also be noted that the majority of East Africans are young,” argues Ms Mdee. She says being a young politician one can easily mingle with the youth in the streets and neighbourhoods apart from easily interacting with them and identifying their problems. Saying most old leaders have nothing to lose, she explains: “I am a councillor in the Kinondoni Municipal Council and MP. Since I started my tenure, MP John Mnyika and I have managed to increase revenue collection from Sh15 billion during the time of our predecessors to Sh23 billion in 2012.

“I have also managed to improve feeder roads in my municipality to tarmac level, in such areas as Sinza and Kijitonyama.

“My advice for the youth seeking to join politics is to be patient and strong because politics is not for the faint-hearted. This is a job with a lot of blames and rivalry. So you have to have a strong heart and faith in order to survive.’’

Another MP, 32-year-old Moses Machali (Kasulu Urban-NCCR-Mageuzi), the Kenya elections have taught us several lessons. One is accepting defeat as did Raila Odinga after his petition was thrown out by the Supreme Court. He says there is a dire need for the Judiciary to be appointed by a separate entity rather than the president as in Tanzania. “We need to change the system because if the president appoints the Judiciary he/she may sometimes be biased because it is difficult to bite the hand that feeds you,” says Mr Machali.

In Kenya Judges and Magistrates are selected by the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board that forwards names of candidates to the Parliament for approval before officially appointing them. He says young people should also be more involved in politics. “I am happy to see that Mr Kenyatta is not very young but a dynamic man. “In the past CCM had not done enough to accommodate the youth, and that is why most left for the opposition such as Chadema which has very many young politicians,” he explains. Most young politicians are aggressive in presenting issues that are of importance to the public, especially in Parliament. “The youth are achieving a lot. For example, I recently conducted a research with fellow MP James Mbatia into challenges of the education system in our country such as lack of a national school curriculum and what could be the solution. “As an MP, I have managed to break the secrecy that surrounded the expenditure of funds allocated to the Parliament for my constituency. Beforehand the funds were used without anyone being accountable,” says Mr Machali.

However, Mr Said Nkumba (CCM Sikonge, Tabora) says the Judiciary in Tanzania is independent. “Even if the judges are appointed by the President, justice is still separated from the government. For example, take the many petitions that the opposition has won. He states that the new trend of youth going into politics is a sign of the maturity of Tanzania politics. “So long as they are able to deliver then the seniors should transfer power to them, but they should learn to accept defeat rather than causing mayhem,” advises Mr Nkumba.

Read more here.

Entrepreneur VS. Intra-preneur

In the past few months I have attended a few seminars/discussion forums centered on “youth entrepreneurship.” I had the privilege of speaking at one forum facilitated by a youth group called Yes! Tanzania. While listening to other speakers and audience members, I came to realize that some, if not a lot of people are mistaking the definition or the characteristics of an entrepreneur. For example, not many people were and are able to differentiate what a business person is to who an entrepreneur is. The key message they are missing is that being an entrepreneur is having more of a mindset/vision than it is making money or a product/service that will sell. Let’s face it, there are lot of entrepreneurs that are not wealthy, as much as there are a lot of people doing business that are not entrepreneurs.

Another observation I have made in the past few months is that people – especially young people – are bent on either coming up with an original idea by themselves, that will make them money or doing exactly what another person is doing, but making it better, cheaper, more efficient etc. I am yet to hear a young person talk about joining forces/ideas with another person or company to improve their idea and most likely increase their chances of success. Nobody has confessed to being an intrapreneur. So who is an intrapreneur? According to an online article by Forbes Magazine, “An intrapreneur is someone who has an entrepreneurial streak in his or her DNA, but chooses to align his or her talents with a large organization in place of creating his or her own. “ (source: Forbes )

I believe thinking more like an intrapreneur can increase the likelihood of a person and/or people gaining success in their business endeavors. This may be surprising to most people but Steve Jobs – a person who many consider to be one of the greatest “entrepreneurs” of our generation was actually an intrapreneur. In a case study conducted by The Intrapreneurship Institute titled “Steve Jobs the Ultimate Intrapreneur and Ultimate Entrepreneur,” it states that, “Apple Computer itself was potentially an intrapreneurial venture, as it was an outgrowth of two big corporation employees. Steve Jobs had worked at Atari and Steve Wozniak (“Woz”) worked at Hewlett Packard part-time when he and Steve Jobs were first experimented with creating “personal computer.”” (source: Intrepreneurship Institute)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY – Whose baby is it anyway?

In today’s world of copy & paste via computers and the Internet, original work is becoming somewhat of a dying art form. However, most tertiary institutions around the world are combating this by having strict plagiarism policies and proof of ownership of work. In fact, universities and education institutions in the west earn revenue from the intellectual property created by their students and staff alike. But this is only in academia. In developed nations and amongst corporations and multinational companies, there are also patent and copyright laws, which further ensure ideas, and inventions belong to the original owner. In the most recent case we can look at Samsung’s suing of Apple over such a topic. Not only does intellectual property affect companies, but it may also affect countries’ rights or lack there of to produce goods as this article by Henry Mitzberg suggests.

So what is intellectual property? It is not a new concept but I find – especially in Tanzania and probably most of Africa – that it is a concept that is not understood or even thought to be able to physically possess. On the contrary, not only can it be possessed, it can be transferred and modified just like any other physical properties.

Intellectual property is “Intangible property that include ‘patents’, ‘trade marks’, ‘copyright’ and registered and un registered ‘design rights.” Conventional intellectual property is categorized into two categories: -

1. Industrial property – which consist of patents of invention trade and service marks, industrial designs, geographical indication of origin, undisclosed information (trade secrets), integrated circuits topography.

2. Copyrights which include – literary and artistic works performance, architectural designs and some kinds of computer databases.

In the case of Tanzania, one would be surprised at just how long intellectual property right laws have been in place. According to a workshop that was conducted by Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (TCCIA) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in May 2005, intellectual property right laws were implemented by British colonialist in 1924 and Tanzania became a member of WIPO in 1983 (source: WIPO) of course who these rights protected is a debatable issue on it own.

'Critical Mass Theory – Tipping Point for Tanzania’s Development' - Modesta L. Mahiga

I bumped into one of my uncles at Nairobi airport recently and he shared something which I had known but never quite stood still long enough to formulate like he did that day but, now that I think of it, that’s exactly what the Professional Approach Group is about; building the critical mass of patriotic, professional, ethical, entrepreneurial, quality-conscious and results-driven young leaders in the public, private and NGO space to tip Tanzania’s values, behaviours and in turn, culture to one that will foster and not hinder our pursuit of “high quality livelihood, peace, stability and unity, good governance, a well educated and learning society, and a competitive economy capable of producing sustainable growth and shared benefits.” as enshrined in Tanzania Development Vision 2025.

So what is the Critical Mass theory?

To simplify, summarise and apply to our situation, the Critical Mass theory states that when seeking to influence and change values and behavior for overall performance and cultural transformation by choosing to first focus on influencing individuals in a specific target group, as the number of individuals in that target group influenced by the new values and behaviours increases, there will come a time when an additional person influenced by the new values and behaviours will bring about not just their personal transformation and performance, as it had individually for each person before them, but that this one additional person thus influenced will be the tipping point to spur on widespread values, behavioural and overall performance transformation of many more people around them, going as far as influencing the value, behavioural and overall performance transformation of people who were not even in the initial target group.
The Critical Mass theory implies that at this tipping point, it is possible to completely override initial undesired values and behaviours such as to create the new and desired values and behaviours as the new norm, the new performance standard, entrenching a completely new culture.



Does the Critical Mass theory work?

It is Critical Mass theory that has tipped women’s inclusion into formerly male dominated business roles; as the increasing number of women in these new roles one day became significant, became, critical, society’s perception of women shifted; women could no longer be ignored as applicants and contenders for these roles (the challenge now is to get, on merit, the critical mass of capable women in the roles). I believe gender inclusion and empowerment is best facilitated when individuals in our families, especially children, see our mothers, sisters, aunts and grandmothers simply “be the message” by “doing” rather than “plead the message” by “saying”. When we see enough women “being”, the critical mass of women doers, in time, will form in our minds the acceptance that this is the norm, not the exception.

Critical Mass theory has worked to include minority groups in governance, education, employment, etcetera, and Critical Mass theory will oust the values, behaviours, performance output and culture we do not want to have in Tanzania and usher in what will prove both foundation and pillars for this Great Nation’s rise to economic lead.

'Modeling and Mentoring' - Modesta L. Mahiga

This is what securing Tanzania’s future boils down to, two words “modeling” and “mentoring”.

If we want to fuel tenacious, patriotic, professional, ethical and competitive mindsets in our people, we need to “model”, that is ‘live out ourselves’ the picture of what we want others to emulate, such as to be a role model to them, and then “mentor”, that is, take deliberate steps to groom others to be able to do and be the values and qualities they have seen and want to emulate in us. It is as simple as that.

I think we often get overwhelmed and bogged down in detail when we think of the challenge of developing our people to move from State dependency, with everyone screaming for government to do everything from sweep their back yard to regulate industry, to independence, where people now see that they have a role to play in their personal and community development to eventually maturing to co-dependence where state and citizen, collaborate both at the local government and state levels to develop the values, constitution, policies, laws and programs that would lead to “a better life for every Tanzanian”.

I know that just the thought of lending one’s mind to the mammoth that is human resource development in Tanzania gets people in analysis-paralysis, not seeing where to start and how they, as an individual could ever do anything significant enough to even make a dent to the challenges in national value system, employment and self-employment opportunities, competitiveness vies a vies foreign competitors and equitable share of the Nation’s wealth. Aaahhh! All of that is too much gibberish for the average person who just wants to have the few square meals they can put together and pray that malaria doesn’t strike any family member such as to require healthcare because there is always more month at the end of the money.

But wait a second people, how do we eat the proverbial “elephant”? One piece at a time, right? And this is how we are going to develop the human resource that will propel Tanzania into her rightful position as an economic super power; by transforming one mind at a time through “modeling” and “mentoring” today, the values, knowledge, skills and attitudes, we want to see in our people, today and tomorrow.

When we think of ‘empowering all 45 million of us to change the way we think, perform and present ourselves for a responsible and competitive business environment’, we might hang our heads in despair, saying “not in my lifetime” but, what if as individuals who are ‘sick and tired of being sick and tired’ about the status quo of low morale, corruption, poverty, irrelevant education, inadequate employment, infantile entrepreneurship, inappropriate governance, unfair competition and of course, not to mention, erratic utility supply, decided enough is enough?

What I know is that there are always “bright spots”, people in our families, communities, societies, today, who live in the same environment as us but somehow think, act and speak differently, higher. Bright spots are people who, despite the challenges, have chosen to both know and live the values and competencies we want our Nation to be moulded from. The reason why, no matter how hard stricken the economy, no matter the illiteracy or poverty levels, there will still be role models to look up to, is because values and behaviours are absolute, transcending current socio-economic and political dynamics. Good remains good and evil remains evil and there are still people who will never pretend to merge the two into the grey area of “it depends…”.

"The Nation Within You" - Modesta Lilian Mahiga

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number
of apples in a seed."” – Robert H. Schuller.

The Danger of Potential

One of the most disappointing things to experience is to watch how someone
gets smug and content to hear that they have “potential”. “Potential” my
friends, is deceiving; it can lull you into a slumber even as you walk in
wakefulness. “Potential” lures you into a false sense of confidence and
security as you say to yourself “ I’ve got it in me, it’s just waiting for
the right time to come before I use it.” Newsflash: settling for the fact
that there is latent “potential” in you is the most dangerous and
debilitating disease you could suffer from.

“Potential” is described in the Oxford dictionary as “having or showing
the capacity to develop into something in the future”, “latent [(of a
quality or state) existing but not yet developed or manifest; hidden or
concealed – lying dormant or hidden until circumstances are suitable for
development or manifestation] qualities or abilities that may be developed
and lead to future success or usefulness”; “the possibility of something
happening or of someone doing something in the future.”

Potential says you have greatness in you and there is a possibility that
someday, somehow, you could become those things, maybe, there is a
possibility. Potential cripples you and makes you complacent because
potential tells you to wait for tomorrow and we all know that tomorrow
never comes.

They say that a graveyard is the wealthiest place in the world. This is
not because people are buried with great treasures in their caskets but
because people are the treasure buried in graves.

Because we continue to wait for our “potential” to be realised tomorrow,
many people die with “potential” to have changed their circumstances and
the very environment they lived. Because they did not pursue their
potential to its end, in the end it died with them forever remaining
“potential” unrealised.

So many unwritten books, untold stories, uninvented creations, unrealised
dreams, unsung heroes, go to the grave with a wealth of talent and
solutions to their and the world’s challenges. Solutions that the world
will never enjoy the benefit of because the one person they could have
come from settled for having the “potential” to make a difference instead
of unleashing what was only “potential” to what is “kinetic” energy –
“energy which a body possesses by virtue of being in motion”.

Potential in Motion

The difference between potential and kinetic energy is that whilst the
former is harnessed in a reservoir and could do great things once
released, until then it remains untapped, dormant, useless; the latter
however, is energy that is conquering fear, moving, doing, daring, now.
Kinetic energy is energy created because of movement, not lying dormant in
potential. Kinetic energy moves, flows in the present, continuously; being
used now, energy generated and applied now to build, strengthen, add
value.

The upside of having potential however, is the fact that you have
something (as opposed to having nothing and we know that God gave every
single person something to start with); to have potential means there is
greatness in you that is dying to be unleashed, to be released, to be made
known to the world, to bring change, to make a difference.

It’s “Selling” not “Begging”

In my few decades of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide under the African sun, I have come to learn a few things about my people - some characteristics to die for, others to kill, at once.

“Pride” falls under both categories. I am proud to be Tanzanian! I am proud of our diversity in ethnicity (over 130 tribes) yet unity in identity and language. I am proud of the fact that we look out for each other; as long as there is a community around them, it is almost unheard of to have a Tanzanian go without food or shelter. I am proud of the fact that we spearheaded Africa’s fight for freedom and unity at great national cost and have that as a lasting legacy. I am proud of our hospitality to people who are destitute, even to this day. I am proud of the fact that we tightened our belt and chose to develop on our own terms, rather than bow down to international political pressure. I am proud to be Tanzanian with the same pride that made our forefathers brave, selfless, sacrificial, persevering and united in pursuit of a common purpose, even when they didn’t get personal gain or live to see their dreams realised. This “pride” in my people, I too take pride in.

Then there is “p-ride” in my people. Out of the same set of circumstances of self-reliance, measured growth and employment for all, so that no one gets left behind, Tanzanians developed an “I am too proud to beg” attitude, even in situations when they aren’t even begging for anything. Funny how when we do beg, for example, for aid, we actually have no qualms about it. I’m just saying. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, being “too proud to beg” for business opportunities.

Take seeking for jobs, whether it be in employment or a business seeking clients, for example; it is typical of many of us to do the minimum to send out our documents, call-in to follow up a few times and then, let the opportunity go without “closing” the deal because we think “well, they know I exist, I have sent them my application documents and even followed up, if they really wanted to do this with me, they would have reverted to me, I’m not going to beg, I know my value.”

Similarly, I have noticed that a person will get out of their way to “sell” when at the beginning of their career yet a few years and titles later would not “go out to beg” for business.

What a pity. “As a man sees in his heart, so is he” reminds us King Solomon in one of his proverbs. Why would we choose to see it as “begging” and not “selling”? Ndugu zangu, as an employer-client, you cannot expect me to be more concerned with pursuing your success than you are. After all, who wrote to whom for this business opportunity? Kwahiyo unamringia nani? Do you know how many other people have applied for the same job as you have? Do you have any idea how many businesses are vying for the same tender to supply products and services to us? There could be tens, hundreds, even thousands. You think you are the only one with an idea? You would be surprised as to how many others have thought up something similar and have put it out to market. It is said that an idea is shared by 99 other people. Even if you were the only person and or business pursuing that opportunity, you still need to be persistent, show the employer-client that you are serious about partnering with them. Maanisha! Follow through.

So many employment opportunities are forgone, sales lost, because of the prideful mindset of the person seeking it.

I would advise both individual and business alike, to “change the way they think, perform and present themselves” to close that deal and continue nurturing the business relationship to guarantee repeat business past the initial transaction.

To do this, one should:

Do you need a degree to be a leader?

Is university education a prerequisite for an elective post? Is secondary education enough?

Well, Parliament wants to ensure that the next cadre of leaders all have tertiary level education.

It is difficult for a politician to stand up in Parliament and defend people seeking elective posts but do not possess a university education.

This is because if the names of those voicing their dissent against the law were put on paper, there will be a strong correlation between not attending university and not supporting the requirement.

Their opponents, on the other hand, are driven by the zeal of the entitled and the accomplished, the sort of haughtiness you can only find in a meritocracy.

They believe that a university education entitles you to more than those who have not bothered to seek higher education.

It is a ludicrous view that spending time in a university expands the mind in any way. Studying for the sake of studying is well and truly dead.

Universities are meant to instil a set of skills that are convertible into gain in the market outside.

The “Power List”

What I know for sure; leaders, trailblazers, change agents, chief transformation officers, as the title of a new found friend of mine, Dr. Wale Akinyemi, reads, are found absolutely everywhere; at every strata in society, in every walk of life of every village, every town, every city, every country and every continent of the world.



How far their reach, how great their impact, how renowned their name, is subject to people’s experience of their contribution to transforming the world they set out to influence. And that is all I will say about that.



What I want to address myself to, without digressing too much, is what I have come to learn through either, first hand exposure to, or, from literature giving insight into, the minds and worlds of these boys and girls, men and women who have and, continue to live legacies in whose wake, entire generations are transformed and destinies unfold.



What I have been part of most of my life but only in the past 3 years been more conscious of, is just how many informed, engaged, creative, courageous, driven leaders there are out there and how little they (a) know of each other and where they do, (b) work together. Whether they champion youth empowerment, environmental protection, responsible business and governance, Africa’s renaissance, mobile money, equitable access to clean water, fair trade or freedom of the press, when I interact with them, whether in person or through the written word, I can literally feel the power harnessed and synergies possible from our combined strengths.


I often meet these phenomenal people because someone, somewhere, who has “experienced” their leadership, impact, solutions, has told other people, who have told other people who decided to organise something and when creating their guest list, decided that these great boys and girls, men and women, must be invited. I’m telling you, it all starts with a list.


I am forever grateful to my God that increasingly so, I too get on these “lists” and travel in Tanzania, across Africa and around the world to meet, strategise, work, debate, shape opinions and solutions to the world’s challenges (in my case, usually pushing on the agenda the transformation of youth competitiveness for responsible business in Tanzania and through Tanzania, Africa). With every assembly, I meet some of “the usual suspects” on the “list” but also each time, more of other trailblazers in their fields. I get humbled each time I consider the accomplishments of the people around me and bless my God for including me in their midst and I passionately and deeply engage in conversations that I know will sooner (than later) develop into ventures.

THE STATE OF EAST AFRICA 2012. DEEPENING INTEGRATION, INTENSIFYING CHALLENGES

More than a decade since it was rekindled, the East African Community integration process is deepening, but the challenges facing the integration units and people are intensifying.

Nairobi, 2 April 2012: 'The final responsibility for shaping East Africa’s future lies with its citizens'. This is one of the key conclusions of a new State of East Africa Report 2012: Deepening Integration, Intensifying Challenges, published by the Society for International Development (SID), with support from TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).


The Report, launching on April 4, 2012 at a ceremony presided over by the East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Ambassador (Dr.) Richard Sezibera and SID International President Ambassador Juma Mwapachu at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi at 10am, will open, encourage and inform a wide range of conversations about how the EAC regional integration is proceeding and what it means for ordinary people’s lives.

'Regional integration is a complicated but evolving process that starts and ends with the citizenry', said Ambassador Juma V. Mwapachu, President of SID International and the immediate former EAC Secretary General. 'One of the major goals of the State of East Africa report is to provide policy makers, civil society and the private sector with information and analysis that they can use to advocate their concerns and interests with respect to regional integration'.

The State of East Africa 2012 updates and improves on the inaugural State of East Africa 2006: Trends, Tensions and Contradictions: The Leadership Challenge and it compiles and analyses data across key economic, social and political indicators from the five member states of the EAC.


Some of the report’s key findings and insights are:

You Do or You Don’t?

Make up your mind, if you’re going to get engaged in something, do it to finish and for the hard core, gung-ho trail blazers amongst us, do it to win! You can’t do things in half measure, man, if you’re in it, then be in it to win it!

What am I talking about? I’m talking about “taking initiative”. I have noticed something that troubles me some; people who initiate a stimuli then sit and wait. I wonder, when people don’t take initiative to follow up with others on something that, if not completed, will reflect negatively on them (the initiator), is it because (a) they believe that after having initiated the communication, their burden of “taking initiative” has already been discharged, or; (b) they want to respect due process of transmission and response and so, after having submitted, they now wait, for the natural next step, that is, the recipient to respond?

Maanisha!'s MD, Andrew Mahiga for School Outreach in 21.1km Kili Marathon

Maanisha! Foundation, Managing Director, Andrew Mahiga is due to run the half Kili Marathon (21.1km) in Moshi this Sunday (26th February) as he raises money for a van so that Maanisha! can reach more students in schools nationwide to prepare them for competitiveness in the world of work (whether they be looking for jobs or creating them). To show your support for this worthy cause, please: 1. Register as a supporter and/or follow the cause and/or share with others on Twitter, Facebook etcetera by going to: http://fundly.com/maanishafoundation 2. Post the following on your social media profiles, blogs, BBM and sms it to friends: "Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Maanisha! Foundation, Andrew Mahiga, atakimbia mbio za Kilimanjaro Marathon (half) Jumapili ya tarehe 26 Februari, 2012, kuchangisha hela ili Maanisha! iweze kufikia vijana zaidi mashuleni Tanzania nzima. Kumuunga mkono, tuma mchango wako kupitia m-pesa: 0752 150 622. Jina: Andrew Mahiga. "Elimu ya maisha kwanza halafu ndiyo ushindani!"" 3. Donate any amount to: m-pesa: 0752 150 622. Jina: Andrew Mahiga 4. Send the following links to friends at media houses for them to follow and profile the story and the cause: http://fundly.com/maanishafoundation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhMFMrt9UOc http://www.maanisha.or.tz/about.html

Tano Tano Za Kujipanga Kwa Kazi!

Hatua 5 Za Kujipanga Kwenye Kutafuta Kazi

1. Malengo! Uwe na dira na malengo binafsi, ujue sifa na nguzu zako ili utafute fursa za kuzikuza, fanya utafiti wa mashirika yanayoweza kukufikisha mwenye malengo yako binafsi.

2. Jipange! Andaa wasifu na barua ya maombi ya kazi zinayokuwakilisha vizuri kwa maelezo na muonekano na mpe mtu apitie kutathmini ubora na usahihi wa maelezo na muonekano.

3. Usibahatishe! Tuma sehemu sahihi na kwa mtu sahihi. Tuma kwa mashirika unayoona yanaendana na malengo yako binafsi, tafuta kujua nafasi sahihi kwenye shirika na hata mtu husika atakayepokea maombi ili uandike jina lake kwenye hiyo barua.

4. Rahisisha! Tumia computer na kutuma barua ya maombi kupitia barua pepe (hii ni rahisi zaidi kuliko kutumia sanduku la posta) na uambatanishe wasifu.

5.  Ng'ang'ania! Fuatilia maombi ya kazi baada ya wiking'ang'ania!  kwa njia ya simu, barua pepe ama nenda mwenyewe. Heshimu jibu watakalokupa. Ukiambiwa watakujibu baada ya muda fulani na wiki ikapita baada ya huo muda, watafute tena.

Kiwango Kipya!

Attending R.I.O.T.-FEST to mark the launch of R.I.O.T. Foundation (www.riotfoundation.org), I was amazed at the level of creativity and workmanship that was invested into putting together the first East and Southern African youth concert. I am the type of person that scans the book, CD and T-shirt stands at concerts so for an event as electrifying as this, I definitely wanted to leave with a few memorabilia. I bought some CDS (Bupe's album being the highlight of my listening experience since then) and then, I saw it; there were several but this one blew my mind! The R.I.O.T. Kiwango Kipya t-shirt! The message was powerful. It resonated with me straight away - that is what I stand for, that is what the Professional Approach Group was all about! I received renewed energy and sense of purpose as I read the message:

"Kiwango Kipya.

When the people of the world are sitting, I am standing. When the world stands, I will stand out. When the world stands out, I will be outstanding. When the enemy dares the world to be outstanding I will be the standard!"

Whoa! This message is it! I have since bought a t-shirt for each member of family and all colleagues. This is it! Lazima tuwe tunaishi kwa viwango vijana wakitanzania! Hatuwezi kuishi tu, bila kusudi wala mwelekeo. Haitoshi kuvuta pumzi tu, bali lazima tujue tunachotaka na kusimamia kiwango cha hali ya juu mpaka kitimie.