EDITORIAL: Why not all startups taste fruit of success

A forum held in Dar es Salaam recently on Tanzania’s social entrepreneurship – and themed Social Entrepreneurship: Doing Business in Tough Times – identified obstacles and other challenges that bedevil business startups in Tanzania.

The challenges that were identified by the forum were said to hamper smooth take-off of startups, as well as impede their growth to bigger and better things sooner rather than later.

It is estimated that 50 million new startups are launched worldwide every year: an average of 137,000 startups every day.

But – in the true tradition of ‘survival of the fittest’ – not all the startups manage to survive the rough seas and waves that pound businesses as a matter of course.

Challenges are everywhere, with businesses in general – and startups in particular – being no exception to battering by the myriad challenges that we face today.

In this regard, certain special skills are crucial not only for a business startup to survive at all, but also to grow, expand and flourish on a sustainable basis.

Major startup challenges include – but are not limited to – failure by most startups to raise funds on their own. They could/should usually do this by attracting investments from seed funders and other angel investors/venture capitalists, instead of hoping and waiting for handouts by donors and fly-by-night financiers.

Other challenges are fierce competition – not only from other startups, but also from giant, older rivals; unrealistic hopes and expectations on the part of overly ambitious budding entrepreneurs; lack of synergy in a startup team in the “birds of a feather flock together” mode – especially in decision-making; and winning customers’ trust from early on.

The forum was organised by the Tujenge TZ Innovation Challenge, a programme which supports young Tanzanians who engage in efforts to solve socioeconomic challenges within the community.

We should all give the programme our full support.

FLAVIANA MOVE COMMENDABLE

Ready availability of tampons for vulnerable Tanzanian schoolgirls is still cause for concern, with many still missing out on classes during their menstrual periods. Menstruation is not an option; it is Mother Nature at work. Yet, tampons are regarded as a luxury.

Indeed, taxes on sanitary pads were scrapped in the 2018/19 financial year, and we all lauded the decision.

But then: how well has this been working, pray?

In any case, our very own international model and fashion designer, Flaviana Matata, has stepped into the breach to make our vulnerable girls proud. The US-based Flaviana has pledged to donate 10 percent of the profit from her ‘Lavy’ brand sanitary pads business to needy schoolgirls in Tanzania.

This should, indeed, prompt other entrepreneurs to join the tampons campaign bandwagon in more or less like manner.

Not only are schoolgirls from poor families forced to stay at home for lack of ready access to clean hygiene products; they also face stigma at school, which adversely impairs their learning capability and self-confidence.

The government aside, we do have wealthy folk who can do more than what Flaviana has pledged to do to ensure that our girls attend classes regularly – and happily.