BECOME A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

“Starting a social entrepreneurship venture in Tanzania”

I hope you also wonder why! Since Tanzania economy threw its feet into free market economy where it had to follow the Structural Adjustment Programs from a capitalist power’s world in 1985s, poverty has been increasing and eating more the life of poor people in urban and more in rural areas.

Before that with Ujamaa policy the government tried to fight poverty by reducing a gap between haves and have-nots and equality in life was a song until the Russian socialistic block where we were allying fell apart in 1980s.
 

I am trying to remind you this history so that you can quickly ponder where this country is coming from in comparison to where we are and the reasons of our economic alteration so that you can choose to become a solution to our poverty by becoming a social entrepreneur.

Almost failed alternatives to poverty eradication: 

Since Tanzania accepted the capitalist free market economy, a large number of NGOs in form of charity organizations, empowerment organizations and so many Government welfare programs came into play to fight poverty and support poor people mostly in rural areas and this is what makes me wonder that poor people are becoming more poor and few rich people are drastically becoming more rich, WHY? 

I bet these solutions are less involving poor people in creating their own pace in solving their own poverty related social problems in their context instead these experts think for the poor and provide irrelevant benefits which favor their own thinking and not the need of poor people who fail to grab the opportunity and instead enjoy the short term charity support which creates their dependence habit which again kills more their ability to fight their own poverty.

Social entrepreneurship a contemporary solution:

This concept is very new however it has been working to some extent in Tanzania as we have few people and organizations which had been applying it to fight poverty without being aware that they are doing social entrepreneurship. Even decision and policy makers in Tanzania have been unaware of it, so it is even not mentioned in their papers though there are some descriptions about it.

Social entrepreneurship is just a way of solving most pressing social problems by using entrepreneurial and business principles. In social entrepreneurship we take an advantage of skills which has made conventional entrepreneurs and businessmen successful and use them to establish social initiatives in form of business or projects focusing on solving crucial social problems and these established ventures go by a title of social enterprises or social businesses depending on its model. 

Success in social entrepreneurship is measured by positive social impact and not profit made that means profit is just a means to an end and not an ultimate goal and it should always be used to expand the same social enterprise and sustain it not goes into someone’s pocket. Social entrepreneurs empower poor people economically or by unusual way of doing business. 

Become a social entrepreneur 

The free market economy allows you to use available many resources around Tanzania to establish a social enterprise which will add value to our community by solving a lot of social problems we have in Tanzania. Be one of them today leave a mark before you die by adding value to our society as a social entrepreneur.

By Erick Chrispin

 

WHY YOU SHOULD START WORKING ON YOUR IDEA FROM TODAY.

I know that recently you might be having a very good idea of growing your economy, making your health, relationship and working ability better. Not only now but also for a long time you had been coming up with a lot of brilliant ideas to get the life you want? Do you remember how many good ideas you had been generating without implementing them up to now and you wonder why you are not moving ahead economically, relationship wise, health wise etc? YES so much of them.

This is an experience most of us face, I have also been passing through this challenge for a very long time when I came up with very brilliant ideas to do something good in my life and the life of others too, I sometimes wrote them down and failed to realize them in the real world due to many different reasons being fear of coming out thinking that I am personally not deserving to do what I am thinking, fear of rejection, discouragement from my close friends, lacking resources due to not being resourceful myself, not being flexible to change my beliefs (being conservative in my paradigm of looking at things), not being ambitious and passionate to some ideas etc. 

Is among these factors a reason for you not to start working on your life changing ideas you have? Probably yes. What happens in life as you take care of these reasons is for you to postpone implementing your idea from today and turn it into a WISH that you will do it sometimes later and this behavior keep on doubling days every time you reach the time you planned to start. If you have managed to say you will start implementing your idea tomorrow then it won’t be difficult for you to say it again by tomorrow so it will keep on being tomorrow I will or someday I will until you totally give up or get old and unable to do it.

That’s why...

It is very important you start working on your idea today. If your idea is clicking so much in your mind today then know that it is trying to push you execute it in the real world, it is just alarming you that this is a right time to do it for your state of mind is in a position to pursue it, by this moment there is no any contamination of other frustrating thoughts in your mind, it is just this brilliant idea taken over whole of your life, it is an opportunity for you to spend this opportunistic time to do what your life is alarming you to do. Have you experienced seeing a lot of possibilities and opportunities to pursue your idea by the time you are deeply thinking about it? I bet yes, and then this proves to you that it was a right time for you to start working on it that very day.

Be responsible for yourself

This day I was discussing with a friend of mine (Safari Fungo) on why others succeed to initiate their ideas and others not? What we discovered is that the above reasons I have mentioned to you plus not being responsible for you leads to most of us not realizes our dreams. Do you remember how many times you failed to do what you were supposed to do and pointed a finger to someone else that is the one who led to your failure? And furthermore do you remember how many times you didn’t even start working on your idea simply because you believed someone must do some part or of it all for you and when this person didn’t do you started pointing your finger at him or her? And lastly do you remember the time someone failed to start his/her project complaining that you didn’t support him/her? This is irresponsibility that me and my friend Safari Fungo we were talking about.

Put in your mind that although we relate to each other in different ways but your life is not someone else’s life and nobody except you has a right to take care of your life be your parents, siblings or friends, as long as you are an adult then you should be responsible to work on your ideas by yourself while convincing others to join your idea because you interdependent each other.

Remember interdependence does not mean dependence, you should not only depend on me but depend on me because I also depend on you, I give you what I have because you give me what I need from you and our combination generates what we both want in our life, it must be WIN-WIN and not WIN-LOOSE situation between us.

What you can do from today.

As long as you have an idea which you real believe in it then it is a right time today to start thinking creatively on how are you going to implement it in the real world, today is a right day to start planning the way you are going to start implementing it immediate after you finish, planning. 

Write down your idea, write your vision behind that idea (in that idea where do you want to be 10 years from now?) then set some long term goals (in your idea what do you want to achieve in the coming 12 months?), set some short term goals (what do you want to achieve in the coming 6,5,4,3,1 month from now?),set some weekly goals (in your idea what do you want to achieve at the end of this week?) and lastly write down your to do list in this day and week in general so that you can start implementing it immediately today.

In this planning process…

I know that most of us hate it but the truth is; it minimize a lot of unnecessary challenges as you start working in your idea, I have proven this by myself as I decided to start working on my idea that day. And it made me enjoy my work as I knew what I was doing in a long run.

If you are going to keep on postponing to start working on your idea from today don’t expect tomorrow to be motivated differently, if you want so, then use today for making a simple and realistic plan on the way you are going to start doing it and start implementing your plan just after you finish planning.

If you do this; according to my experience you are going to realize your dream just from today onwards!

All the best!

By Erick Chrispin