Greetings from the Sun-Kissed Coast of Tanzania!
Hello Everyone:I just want to write an update from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. I arrived here early July. Co-worker Mason, who was supposed to pick me up, told me to look for a tall Caucasion guy with a beard. But when I got out, I saw two tall Caucasian guys with beards and wasn’t sure who to approach. It turned out that either of them would have been a viable option as the other bearded guy was our Program Manager, John Keane.
Anyway, Mason, John, and I had our first SolarAid meeting at a bench surrounded by the African night. It was quick meeting, but enough for me to catch a glimpse of everyone’s excitement in ramping up this project. And yes, a project to distribute microsolar products to the most rural parts of Tanzania is an exciting one and I am glad I got to enter at the ground up.
The past week has been very busy. Mason and I have been running around town getting the office setup. It was was great way to get oriented on layout of the city as well as get a feel of the work
culture in this country. I met with a lawyer, the Internet setup guys, and building management. Mason also helped to get me settled by showing me where to buy food, get Internet access, and get something to eat.
Our office reflects a true startup in the making. It’s completely empty except for a large wooden desk that will be returned to their rightful owner (another NGO) next week. At the very least, we have
Internet setup (which is a big deal here!) and furniture will arrive within one day of placing the order. I’ll be sending you some pictures of our office.
First impressions of Tanzania — hmmm — blue-doomed beaches with sparkling blue water where you can watch fisherman return home at sunset. Yes, I mentioned the beach because that’s where I am staying, right by the water, next to an Irish Pub. It’s a social place where in one visit, you can meet people who work for different NGO’s. One of my early goals here is to get an understanding of what different NGO’s do, in order to identify areas of synergy. As a startup, we don’t want to reinvent the wheel, and we want to gather as many lessons learned as possible from those who have done something similar in the past. Although our product is microsolar, we also need to look at existing distribution processes for medical product, food supplies, and small electronic equipments. Thus, staying next to the Irish Pub is somewhat conducive to this mission.
I am very excited about meeting potential female entrepreneurs here in the city. I’ll be holding my first focus group on Friday to ask several local women about what they think of microsolar products. We also plan to meet up with several NGO’s next week.
Until next time!!
Irna
October 6th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Hey there Irna,
I lived in Tanzania for 6 months back in 2007 while working for Standard Chartered Bank. While there I volunteered my time with the Tanzanian Women’s Chamber of Commerce. I recommend you search them out. I can provide a contact if need be.
Also, through my contacts in AIESEC (an internaitonal leadership group) I know of an already well established solar panel producer/reseller active in Dar es Salaam and all over the region. They are from a scandanavian country…. I forget which right now. But I know that the company takes an AIESEC intern each year to aid in the sales strategies etc. If you would like this contact info as well, please contact me.
Other than that, if you need some help in knowing interesting places to go, things to see or particular things about the culture, feel free to drop me a line!
Enjoy the experience because you will miss Tanzania dearly for long after you have returned home.