Activity Description:

Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) is supporting the development of high-quality pharmaceutical manufacturing in Tanzania by providing a US$2.5 million long-term financing to Zenufa, a company that is setting-up one of the first Tanzanian pharmaceutical plant complying with the WHO Current Good Manufacturing Standards.

This investment will allow to renovate unoccupied former premises, to equip the plant and bring the site to CGMP-standards (Current Good Manufacturing Practice). The Sponsors are experienced in manufacturing and distributing pharmaceutical products in Africa and will provide half of the financing needed for the project. The plant will manufacture generic drugs including antibiotics, anti-malaria- and anti-parasite drugs, drugs against pain and fever, etc.

Although the economic growth in Tanzania is very encouraging, aid epidemics are a constant threat to the country. Thanks to the government and international donors support access to health care has been improved. Zenufa has a long-range plan to produce more innovative drugs, not yet manufactured in Tanzania, such as ARV drugs for aids patients. Zenufa will sell most of its products in Tanzania but will also target other neighbourhood countries.

The creation of this pharmaceutical plant in Tanzania will improve the access to essential drugs, will help reduce prices and will offer opportunities to launch more sophisticated drugs. Moreover Zenufa will create about 150 new jobs, most of them for women. Zenufa also pays much attention to environmental aspects and the project has been designed to mitigate major environmental impacts. Zenufa will also have an important development impact by professionalizing the supply chain, stimulating the demand and raising the quality standards.

Activity Description:

Activity Description:

In 2001 the CROMABU project (www.cromabul.com) was designed to gather and disseminate relevant information regarding crop prices in local and international markets in English and Kiswahili to help empower micro and small enterprises. Youth, particularly ex-students from primary and secondary schools, are the key channel of communication between the CROMABU and the targeted small-scale farmers in Magu; they are employed as agents and use bicycles to collect and distribute all relevant documents to the villages.

Activity Description: Tools for Self Reliance is a UK-based charity that aims to empower artisans working in developing countries so that they can better participate in the development of themselves and their communities. To achieve this, TFSR works with local partner organisations to provide tools and skills training, thereby increasing self-reliance, diversifying incomes, and improving livelihoods.

Recognising that tools are only a small part of the answer to the problems facing the poor, TSFR works with local organisations to take an integrated approach to meeting the needs of rural crafts-workers , such as ensuring availability of credit to crafts-workers, teaching tool-using and repairing skills, as well as business and enterprise training.

Activity Description: The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) is an independent, non-profit organization that assists developing countries to realise locally-owned, sustainable development, by harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs). IICD works with its partner organisations in (currently nine) selected countries, helping local stakeholders to assess the potential uses of ICTs in development.

Activity Description: Equity for Africa (EFA) seeks to alleviate poverty in a self-sustaining way by creating jobs through investing in small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa, providing capital which would otherwise not available. In order to do this successfully, EFA also builds the infrastructure to deploy the capital and monitor the investments made.

EFA also aims to create relationships between people and organisations in high income countries (the providers of capital) and Africa (the users of capital) by providing excellent reporting to investors about the SMEs in which their capital is at work and, where value can be added, direct relationships between investors and investee companies.

Activity Description: Through Access to Electricity, ABB explores how it can contribute to rural electrification in Africa on a commerical basis. ABB currently has operations in Tanzania and Senegal. In the southern Tanzanian village of Ngarambe, electrification and partnership with World Wildlife Fund has already led to significant improvements for small businesses, health care, education and environmental protection. In Senegal, ABB together with French utility Electricit� De France are preparing a common bid to electrify a northern province.

Activity Description: Pride Africa is a microfinance organization that is using IT for increased efficiency and faster growth. It launched its portal "DrumNet," which stores information on the buying and business habits of Pride clients, in order to group the purchasing power of thousands of small entrepreneurs. Pride is also developing improved loan tracking software and, under its SunLink program, investigating the use of swipe cards and information kiosks.

Activity Description: The UNEP's AREED initiative fosters the development of rural energy entrepreneurs in Mali, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal, and Zambia through partnerships with local NGOs. With the support of international development organizations and financial institutions, the initiative provides a combination of business development services and start-up financing. AREED aims to attract investments from mainstream financial partners to these entrepreneurs.

Activity Description:

EnterpriseWorks (formerly Appropriate Technology International) is a non-profit organization that fights poverty in the developing world through business development programs that allow small agricultural producers and other entrepreneurs to increase their productivity and incomes, pursue sustainable business opportunities, and create jobs that benefit their families, communities and regions.

EnterpriseWorks has successfully assisted the creation of small-scale food and oils processing and garment making businesses, implemented irrigation to help productivity, created farm cooperatives, and managed many other entrepreneurial initiatives.

Activity Description: A highly-effective, long-lasting (3-5 years instead of 3-5 months), insecticide-treated malaria bednet is being manufactured, produced and sold by for under $5 in east Africa. The technology and distribution channels for the bednet are being made possible though a partnership forged between Sumitomo, ExxonMobil, WHO and UNICEF and the Tanzanian manufacturer.