Together

Together is a group of ten seasoned entrepreneurs ranging in age from 35 to 60. The women are based in the rural area of Bangata, just outside Arusha. Each member owns a personal business, with activities ranging from small-scale agriculture and dairy farming to tailoring. They formed the group to support each other — many of the women have busy family lives and children to care for. 

We welcomed Together (‘Pamoja’ in Swahili) into the Wanawake Tunaweza Tanzania programme in 2024. Since then, the women have launched a group business buying and selling rice, cooking oil, and soap. The group has taken positive steps to professionalise the business, including keeping separate records for each product line and using the electronic wallet system available in Tanzania: a secure system that clearly shows all individual group members how much money is available to them, both for their business and as private savings.

The women are working with the WTT coach to make further progress. This includes increasing their profit margins by identifying the optimal time to purchase new stock. To support this, they have started registering market prices for their products to gain insight into market trends and cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship focused on ‘following the market’ and ‘taking calculated risks’.