13 Jun

A SUGECO supported Youth secured a reliable Market for her spices in Tanzania through the SUGECO incubation program

Fatuma Mbaga is a graduate of Mzumbe University who studied Bachelor of Business Administration with Entrepreneurship and graduated in 2019. At present, She is at SUGECO undergoing an incubation program engaging in Spices Value addition, branding, and packaging.

Her journey started way back in 2018 when she was still at University. Initially, Fatuma was producing Tea-Soya Masala at her parent’s home in Dar es Salaam just for home consumption and as small gifts for her friends and fellow students. After overwhelming feedback from her friends, Fatuma used a portion of her university loan to buy raw materials and packages and hired a designer to design the labels for her business (GET AROMA SPICES).

When she heard about the Entrepreneurship Camp from Mzumbe University in Morogoro, Fatuma got a chance to present her business case in the Entrepreneurship competition that was held in May 2018. Her efforts paid off and she became the Best Female Entrepreneur Startup of the year 2018 and was awarded a trophy.

This success motivated Fatuma to take her business to a further level; She joined the SUGECO network in June 2018 as an incubatee.  To date, SUGECO incubates her business and connects her with different market opportunities.

“I decided to employ myself because I want to reduce post-harvest losses by adding value to the crops, especially spices, and create more opportunities for youths and women.” Said Fatuma.

SUGECO has helped her with a Production Facility, Milling Machines, and Working Space. She has also been attending several training programs offered by SUGECO focused on Food Safety and Hygiene, Financial Literacy, Branding, Market Access, and Food Compliance Standards.

“Being at the SUGECO Incubation Program, my production has increased from one (1) tonne to two (2) tonnes per month. Not only that but also, I have succeeded in getting the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS ) Mark and creating employment for youths and women around Morogoro Region while helping the farmers to get the market for their produce” She added.

Fatuma has been a role model to other youths who are engaging in value addition. She has secured a reliable market in Tanzania for her products through the networking support she is receiving from SUGECO.

“The support am receiving from SUGECO has helped me to grow my business and I look forward to engaging further in the spices value chain due to the high demand in the market and to creating more opportunities for the youths in this value chain through employment creation”.