WAWAVITA also wants dedicated industrial areas in every region, saying most small-scale producers still work out of their own homes.

By Our Correspondent, Dodoma

THE GOVERNMENT has been asked to consider providing a grant to the Tanzania Women and Men in Industry Association (WAWAVITA) in order to strengthen its efforts to lift its members economically through the industrial sector.

WAWAVITA’s National Director, Rehema Mbeleke, said this yesterday in an interview.

“We are asking the government to give us a grant. This is an institution dedicated to advancing the work of industry owners across the production value chain. That grant would help us reach far more people, with the aim of improving their businesses,” she said.

She also urged the government to continue working with small-scale industry owners, including by setting aside dedicated industrial areas in various regions of the country, to enable them to produce goods of a certified standard with an assured market at home and abroad.

Mbeleke said industry owners were keen to see the government set aside such dedicated areas for production activities.

“An industrial economy is the backbone of national development. Let us concentrate on producing quality goods so that we have an assured market at home and abroad,” she said.

She said that by June this year WAWAVITA had 26,800 members countrywide, with Mwanza Region and its districts leading on more than 8,000 members.

She explained that the association was formed to bring entrepreneurs together so that they could pursue joint strategies for strengthening themselves economically and open up various development opportunities.

According to Mbeleke, many goods made by small-scale entrepreneurs are produced at home because of the lack of dedicated production areas.

“The biggest challenge for entrepreneurs is having to work from home. To address this, efforts have been made and many have been linked to the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) so that they can access various services, alongside working with the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) to obtain quality marks — a step that enables their products to enter the market with ease,” she said.

She thanked the government, through SIDO, for continuing to empower entrepreneurs and for showing a commitment to seeing Tanzanians make progress in economic development.

She said WAWAVITA’s future plan is to have industrial areas in every region of the country so that entrepreneurs can carry out their activities in a friendly environment with suitable infrastructure.

“Here in Dodoma, SIDO already has areas set aside for production. Our dream is to see this achieved in every region so that entrepreneurs can produce, enter markets and benefit from the various economic opportunities,” she said.

She added that in Dodoma Region they had introduced a mobile marketing system (markets on the move), which has been helping entrepreneurs build capacity and confidence in promoting and selling their products.

She encouraged industry owners and entrepreneurs to join WAWAVITA so as to benefit from the various opportunities the association offers.

“Do not look down on an opportunity. Whether you are making liquid soap, peanut butter or any other product, it is all business with the capacity to earn you an income,” she said.

She added that WAWAVITA will hold its annual meeting in Dodoma this year, after last year’s meeting was held in Dar es Salaam.