LocationsUNDP announces Tanzania Five Finalists of the Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV) programme
November 21, 2022
Geneva, 21 November 2022 - UNDP launched in July 2022 the Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV) programme in Tanzania that identifies through a highly competitive process enterprises from developing countries that have developed at-scale products and services that contribute to the SDGs while achieving commercial success and are committed to embed impact considerations into decision-making. The programme is based on the findings emerged from the Tanzania SDG Investor Map, a market intelligence tool designed to help private investors (funds, financiers, corporations) identify investment opportunities areas and business models that advance the SDGs. The Tanzania SDG Investor Map revealed market insights around five sectors aligned with the national development needs and policy priorities of the country, where private capital can make a difference to people and planet.
Over 80 companies were nominated to participate in the selection, five of them were designated as the finalists of the programme:
Sustainable waste management, especially in urban areas, represents a pressing environmental issue for Tanzania. 40% of food produced in East Africa is spoiled due to a lack of proper post-harvest storage and route to market posing a huge problem to Farmers. Food waste is the single largest component going into municipal landfills in East Africa. As a result of decomposition, it creates harmful methane emissions. In addition, biowaste creates a favourable environment for rats, pests, and mosquitoes to multiply and spread diseases.
Chanzi, a key protagonist of the circular economy in Tanzania, aims to drastically reduce Tanzania's organic waste while providing an affordable protein source for animal feed to local farmers. Chanzi also helps to reduce the animal feed industries’ over-dependence on fish and soya bean as protein source for animal feed. To do so, Chanzi collects biowaste from households, farmers and businesses and feeds the waste to larvae of Black Soldier Fly (BSF), an insect native to Tanzania. BSF are used as raw material to produce nutritious protein animal feed as well as nutrients and mineral-dense fertilizer.
The company was founded in 2019, in Arusha, Tanzania where it has its headquarters. Chanzi has a strong management team and employs close to 50 people driving operations in Tanzania and Kenya.
Chanzi has built solid partnerships to innovate, create and distribute its products, including with regional and international partners such as UNILEVER, Taka Taka Solutions, Hortanzia Ltd., GIZ and Wageningen University to mention a few.
ENSOL was established in 2001 to provide quality and cost-effective energy solutions that create value to people’s life and the environment.
In the past 20 years, the production and distribution of energy in Tanzania have faced enormous challenges, including capacity shortages, lack of private investments, and low reliability of the power supply. Ensol works on meeting the demand for reliable energy by providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to public and private clients through renewable energy solutions. Clients include health clinics, schools, and commercial and industrial (C&I) entities.
Ensol provides services such as Solar Water Pumping, Solar Street Lighting, Solar Water Heating and Solar Minigrids and is registered with Contractors Registration Board (CRB) of Tanzania as an Electrical Contractor specialising in Solar Energy.
Ensol’s directors have vast experience and expertise in business and Renewable Energy (RE) and lead a highly qualified team of over 22 staff driving the company’s organic growth. Ensol plans to expand its operations currently focused in Tanzania, to other countries in Africa, including Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia where partnerships are on solid grounds.
The agricultural industry employs 75% of the Tanzanian population but Tanzanian farmers, rarely reap the full fruits of their labour and a large part of their production goes to waste. 48% of food produced in Tanzania is spoiled before reaching the market, equivalent to $4 billion every year. The poor storage facilities, lack of access to market and poor transport and handling are the main causes.
Kilimo Fresh sources fresh produce from farmers and delivers it to its B2B2C customers in Dar es Salaam, leveraging mobile technology to give farmers fair and stable prices and direct access to markets for their crops. The company also enables buyers to access fresh produce directly from the farms at affordable prices and deliver it directly to their doorsteps significantly reducing post-harvest losses by cold storage and powering all activities with renewable energy.
Kilimo Fresh has registered impressive growth since it was founded in 2018 and plans to further expand in the African region and beyond. The company’s seasoned management team combines business, digital and finance expertise with knowledge of farming and of the local context. The company trades and markets all types of foods, grains, fresh fruits and vegetables providing an essential link to markets but also to expertise to improve sustainable agricultural practices and income to rural communities in Tanzania.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 65 Million secondary school-age children are out of school and 70% of children aged 14–17 years are not enrolled in secondary education in Tanzania. Dropout rate is extremely high, and education does not prepare youth for the job market. Flexible solutions to finance education constitute an additional barrier to access.
Smartcore is a social enterprise making quality and relevant secondary education and vocational education accessible to all by leveraging the power of technology, digital finance and data. Smartcore uses AI, big data analytics and machine learning to provide students the best learning experience and real time data to teachers, parents and other education stakeholders and by partnering with digital banks and fintech across the world, Smartcore accelerate access to education.
Smartcore has grown organically since its founding in 2017 and offers its products in Kenya and Uganda in addition to Tanzania. It plans to expand further leveraging technology to provide personalized, data-driven and affordable solutions to learners in Sub Saharan Africa
Tanzania produces annually 205,000 tonnes of cooking oil, which is insufficient to meet its 570,000 tonnes annual demand. The country spends over Sh443 billion annually to import 365,000 tonnes of edible oil to cover the shortage. And yet, close to 10,000 small scale farmers – including many young and female farmers - involved in edible oil crop farming lack the support they need to enhance their productivity and income.
YES Group aims at empowering rural smallholder farmers in production, value addition and marketing of their agricultural products. Since its founding in 2012, the YES Group provides goods and services to actors along the edible oil value chain, helping to expand the industry, supporting small holder farmers’ livelihoods and protecting the environment. It provides training to rural communities, especially youth and women, to improve the productivity and quality of their organic production. It also provides oil seeds pressing services to expand the production of edible oil.
The company markets by-products of edible oil production for animal feed, at competitive prices, helping to enhance the competitiveness of the livestock industry and preserving the environment. YES Group is also scaling up the use of avocado fruits in soap making business leveraging the availability of cheap inputs compared to industries that make soap from edible oil.
The company works with a large range of partners, steered by a capable and dedicate management team, with expertise in business management, marketing, community development and industrial engineering, among others. In addition to the Tanzania market, YES Group serve the regional market through Uganda and Rwanda.
The five Tanzania GSIV finalists will participate at the Tanzania SDG Investment Forum scheduled on 30 November 2022 in Dar es Salaam.
Organized as a hybrid event, entrepreneurs will make their pitch at the Johari Rotana Hotel and to a global audience, at 2.30 pm EAT.