Hurrah!
Today, Cheetah Development signed its first contract in Tanzania. This is an agreement that creates a relationship between Cheetah and the University of Dar es Salaam to jointly conduct business development. UDSM is one of the most respected Universities in Africa and has educated many of the best African leaders across the continent.
This agreement was signed with the University of Dar es Salaam, Entrepreneurship Center, or UDEC for short, currently led by Dr. Olomi. For UDEC, this is their first agreement signed within Tanzania, they also have another agreement with a Dutch based development company.
Pictured below are pictures of Dr. Chagama (left) and Dr. Olomi (right) from UDEC.
Dr. Olomi is a highly respected business development leader across Tanzania, known by both officials and the many entrepreneurs that have experienced the training programs he conducts. Dr. Olomi and his team have provided training, coordinated with non-government organizations from charities to the World Bank, are developing a business incubator for students, conducted Business Plan Competitions to find the most worthy businesses to help, and many other activities.
However, funding to start or help businesses has been in short supply. Even after a ten year effort, not one business has been funded. It is hard to describe how rare the work of Cheetah really is. There are only a handful doing any similar work in the world and currently no investment companies working in Tanzania in the $5,000 to $500,000 range. We are told that there is actually more money available for investments above $500,000 than there are entrepreneurs that can be found to partner with. Where is a new business to get their start-up or growth funding since this is the range required by nearly all such organizations?
After meeting many of the entrepreneurs identified by Dr. Olomi and his team, we are persuaded that opportunity abounds and we can together, change the 10 year drought.
(To learn more about the relationship of universities in the Cheetah program go to http://www.cheetahdevelopment.org/Our_Program.htm)
Today, Cheetah Development signed its first contract in Tanzania. This is an agreement that creates a relationship between Cheetah and the University of Dar es Salaam to jointly conduct business development. UDSM is one of the most respected Universities in Africa and has educated many of the best African leaders across the continent.
This agreement was signed with the University of Dar es Salaam, Entrepreneurship Center, or UDEC for short, currently led by Dr. Olomi. For UDEC, this is their first agreement signed within Tanzania, they also have another agreement with a Dutch based development company.
Pictured below are pictures of Dr. Chagama (left) and Dr. Olomi (right) from UDEC.
Dr. Olomi is a highly respected business development leader across Tanzania, known by both officials and the many entrepreneurs that have experienced the training programs he conducts. Dr. Olomi and his team have provided training, coordinated with non-government organizations from charities to the World Bank, are developing a business incubator for students, conducted Business Plan Competitions to find the most worthy businesses to help, and many other activities.However, funding to start or help businesses has been in short supply. Even after a ten year effort, not one business has been funded. It is hard to describe how rare the work of Cheetah really is. There are only a handful doing any similar work in the world and currently no investment companies working in Tanzania in the $5,000 to $500,000 range. We are told that there is actually more money available for investments above $500,000 than there are entrepreneurs that can be found to partner with. Where is a new business to get their start-up or growth funding since this is the range required by nearly all such organizations?
After meeting many of the entrepreneurs identified by Dr. Olomi and his team, we are persuaded that opportunity abounds and we can together, change the 10 year drought.
(To learn more about the relationship of universities in the Cheetah program go to http://www.cheetahdevelopment.org/Our_Program.htm)
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