Located in Kilolo, Iringa region, the Kitelewasi youth group is made up of 14 individuals. The group recently identified an opportunity to establish a maize milling enterprise, a staple food for a large population in the area. A maize milling project would not only earn the youth group income, it would be beneficial to their community and surrounding villages as well. However, the lack of startup capital made it difficult for them to implement their business idea.
The Feed the Future Tanzania Advancing Youth activity sought to address this lack of capacity, technical expertise, and financial resources by linking the youth group with Tanzanian state-owned enterprise, Small Industries Development Organization. The Organization trained the youth on agro-processing and provided them with startup capital and equipment to assist them to establish their business.
So far, Kitelewasi Group has invested more than 12 million Tanzania shillings (USD $5,199) in their business. They have also purchased the land on which they set up their business for 500,000 Tanzania Shillings (USD $216). This was necessary as owning their premises would enable them to attract the 10% development fund allocated for youth by the local government.
Now, the youth group produces five, 10 and 15 kilogram bags of maize flour. They also provide milling services to the community in Kilolo and surrounding villages. “We are proud to be serving three villages in our community. Previously, villagers would travel for miles to find a local mill for their maize grain which is not the case now. The business has also raised our level of income. We have more than 3 million Tanzania shillings (USD $1,301) in the bank now which allows each one of us to borrow to finance our individual projects”, Says Filoteus Mnyenyelwa, Chairman of Kitelewasi group.
The group has officially been designated a Small Medium Enterprises based on capital invested, and assets owned, as required under Tanzania’s Small Medium Enterprise policy.
USAID/Tanzania