Could Statoil bring new hope to Mtwara's youth?

After completing his primary education, Majaliwa Mbonde’s dream of continuing with his advanced levels disappeared into thin air.

 The 18 year-old had been depending on his uncle who paid his school fees for two years of his secondary education.

However, a road accident that robbed his uncle of his life also took away his dream of proceeding with further education.

 He had to join a group of other many youth in Mtwara region who did not make it to high school.

 According to statistics by Wentworth Africa Foundation, Mtwara region has one of the lowest pass rates in primary school. Access to education at primary school level is said to be a problem in the region.  In 2012, only 43.5 per cent of children made it to primary education. Access to secondary education is also a problem – in 2010, only 55 per cent of students were able to enroll for secondary school. Dropout rates were very high – 55 per cent in Mtwara region.

  In 2012, 4,565 students out of 8,278 dropped out of secondary school “I really wished I could continue with my studies, but the problem was getting school fees. It was a nightmare,’’ explains Majaliwa, who dropped out of school when he was in Form Two.

 According to Majaliwa, his efforts to raise funds from other relatives were unsuccessful as  most of his family members held education in low regard.

 But this was not an obstacle to Majaliwa’s  success; he knew he had to find ways to make ends meet. Entrepreneurship became an option for young Majaliwa.

 “I started selling cashew nuts and ground nuts on the street, this was after I acquired a capital of Sh. 50,000 from a friend as a non interest loan,’’ says Majaliwa.

The rest is history; now Majaliwa owns a small shop in Mtwara close to the main bus stand; he sells groceries and makes Sh 20,000 to  40,000 as profit.

Businessmen who lack know-how

A number of young people in Mtwara region are engaging in small businesses, however, most of them do not have any skills for conducting their business professionally; this could soon change due to developments taking place in the region.

That Mtwara is one of the fastest growing towns in Tanzania is no longer debatable. The discovery of natural gas has put this previously obscure region in the limelight.

Lindi and Mtwara have much of the 43 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered by several multinationals including Norwegian Statoil currently undertaking exploration work offshore the two regions.

According to Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), there are eight firms from the UK, Brazil and Norway conducting deep sea explorations for oil and gas.

This makes Mtwara a region with the potential for a growing number of  opportunities.

Early in September Statoil Tanzania had introduced the Heroes of Tomorrow Business Competition which invites all youth from 18  to 25 years of age to share their business ideas which stand the chance of being  transformed into business plans.

“We want to encourage young people to take part in the opportunities emerging from the gas industry and ultimately see results through the initiation of successful new businesses in their region,” says Øystein Michelsen, country manager of Statoil Tanzania.

The competition

The competition was launched in conjunction  with the establishment of the Heroes of Tomorrow computer lab located at Stella Maris University College in Mtwara. According to the project manager, Erick Mchome, the lab will be used as a training unit for those whose ideas will be picked for the top 40.

“This competition will also include training for business plan writing and other angles of entrepreneurship,’’ says Mchome. The lab was officially launched by Statoil President and CEO Helge Lund.

Inside the Heroes of Tomorrow (Hot) lab there are 15 new computers connected to internet of which students in Mtwara will be allowed to use to develop their business ideas and business proposals.

According to Mchome, the competition will be closed in October and will be followed by the final award event in December. Once the competition completes at the end of the year, the lab will continue to function under the ownership of Stella Maris University College for academic purposes.

Every young person in Mtwara between 18 and 25 years of age is allowed to share their ideas in a special form provided in the competition brochure which can be obtained from Stella Maris University.

In addition, the best  40 competitors will be selected to attend training and coaching workshop which will focus on how to develop business ideas.

Zawadi Mfutakamba, 20, one of the participants of the  competition believes that this is an opportunity for youth in Mtwara to support development of their own town.

“I heard about the competition a week ago and I thought, it’s a chance that should not pass me by, so I am participating,’’ says Zawadi, who completed her secondary education last year.

The competition targets mainly students who study in Mtwara and other youth residing in the region. Mtwara is a home to about five different higher learning colleges and universities. Some of them are Stella Maris, VETA, Tanzania Institute of Accountancy and Naliendele Agricultural Institute.

Mchome says so far about 100 youth have returned the application forms and this proves that youth in Mtwara are up to the challenge and eager to do their share in developing their hometown. Justin Lusasi, a lecturer at Stella Maris University College in Mtwara says the competition has stimulated the spirit of entrepreneurship for students at his university.

“Many students have been calling to ask about the forms and how they can participate, this is a good indication, and Statoil has a social responsibility to make sure that the region also benefits its work here,’’ says Justin who is also a coordinator for the competition at Stella Maris.

Social responsibilty

Since 2012 Statoil and its partner have made significant discoveries in Block 2, which covers an area of approximately 5,500 square kilometres and lies in water depths between 1,500 to 3,000 metres.

“Statoil believes in supporting young talented people in the countries where we operate. In this way we promote development in the societies where we have our operations,” says Øystein Michelsen.

The plans that will be submitted will be judged for five finalists to emerge and eventually the overall winner of the competition.

The winner will be awarded $5,000 while the four finalists will receive $1000 each.