• Featured Project

    Investing in New Ventures of Entrepreneurial Students in Tanzania

By investing in high-quality education for young adults, Lutheran World Relief is helping rural communities across Tanzania develop productive, resilient and stable economies. 

Agriculture is the engine that drives the economies of many developing nations. But many young people do not see agriculture as a viable way to support themselves. They’ve watched their parents struggle and, instead, choose to migrate toward urban centers hoping for better opportunities that often fail to materialize.

That’s why we’re working to significantly improve agricultural education in Tanzania and align it to the country’s market needs.

Investing in New Ventures of Entrepreneurial Students in Tanzania (INVEST) is designed to address the gaps in student training and preparation in Tanzania’s agriculture vocational training systems and establish partnerships with the private and public sector to support and assist students in employment upon graduation. 

We’re committed to implementing effective positive youth development programming.

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A first-class curriculum

We’ve developed a first-class curriculum for vocational training schools so that graduates are more likely to gain employment or are equipped to run their own businesses.

The curriculum — which was informed by the findings of our comprehensive labor market needs assessment — will be implemented through capacity building trainings for teachers in all 36 of Tanzania’s vocational training programs by September 2019, ultimately reaching more than 25,000 students. 

Powerful experiential learning opportunities

We’ve established an internship program in which students have the opportunity to work for private sector agriculture companies for a period of one month. Interns receive housing and a stipend for meals and transportation. In some cases, internships translate to permanent job offers, benefiting both the intern and the company.

Start-up capital for promising businesses

We’re awarding start-up capital — in the form of challenge grants — to student entrepreneurs with promising business proposals. Student entrepreneurs receive direct mentorship by leading agriculture business owners and experts throughout the implementation timeline.

Mutually beneficial partnerships

Together with the Ministry of Agriculture in Tanzania and private agricultural companies, we’re supporting the next generation of farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs in Tanzania.

The Ministry of Agriculture Technical Institutes benefit from:

  • A revised, certified curriculum
  • A training model and infrastructure for building the capacity of teachers
  • Connectivity to private sector businesses
  • A viable internship program model

Private sector companies benefit from:

  • Access to market-ready students and graduates
  • Participation in students’ education prior to graduation
  • A viable internship program model
  • A formal partnership with the technical institutes

A model for success, sustainability and scalability

Ultimately, we expect that the Tanzania Ministry of Agriculture will fully manage and fund this program, moving the economic strength of the sector’s workforce forward.

The INVEST model is built on the intersection of positive youth development, social systems and market systems. The model is both replicable and scalable across agricultural technical vocational education and training institutes, which are often administered by national Ministries of Agriculture.  

Contacts
Nadia Levique,Senior Regional Director, East, Central & Southern Africa nleveque@corusinternational.org

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