PUM Netherlands: Empowering Tanzania Through Knowledge Exchange
PUM Netherlands, a renowned organization specializing in volunteer expert advice, has been actively engaged in Tanzania, a vibrant East African nation, for several years. PUM's commitment to knowledge exchange and capacity building has played a crucial role in supporting local businesses and fostering economic development in Tanzania. In Tanzania, PUM Netherlands primarily focuses on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article aims to shed light on the remarkable activities and impact of PUM Netherlands in Tanzania.
Expertise-driven Knowledge Transfer
PUM Netherlands operates on the premise that sharing expertise and knowledge can catalyze sustainable growth. The organization recruits experienced professionals from various fields, including agriculture, entrepreneurship, engineering, marketing, finance, and many more. These experts, known as PUM senior experts, volunteer their time and knowledge to assist local businesses and entrepreneurs in overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities. PUM Netherlands shares its expertise through various channels, ensuring widespread access to valuable knowledge. These include hosting webinars, providing location advice, offering remote consultations, supporting initiatives through the Hans Blankert fund, promoting trade activities, conducting seminars and trainings, organizing train-the-trainer programs, fostering vocational education, establishing business incubators, and facilitating informative webinars.
Areas of Expertise
PUM Netherlands covers a wide range of expertise, addressing the diverse challenges faced by Tanzanian businesses. Here are some key areas where PUM provides support.
Entrepreneurship and Business Development: Tanzanian entrepreneurs receive valuable assistance from PUM experts in various aspects of their business, including business planning, market research, financial management, and the development of effective marketing strategies. This support equips entrepreneurs with the necessary knowledge and tools to make informed decisions and enhance the efficiency of their business operations. Additionally, PUM's collaboration with Arusha Technical College (ATC) and the Association of Citizen Contractors Tanzania (ACCT) has led to the establishment of a training program. Through this program, fundis receive training from PUM experts to address the urgent need for highly skilled workers identified by PUM and ACCT.
Other areas of cooperation (to name a few) between PUM and Tanzania have been in manufacturing and engineering, Tourism and Hospitality, waste management, Agriculture and Horticulture, health, trade promotion in the context of poultry; with strategic partners in Tanzania such as the Tanzania Women Contractors Association (TWCA), Tanzania Milk Processors Association, Pharmaceutical Society of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC), Association of Citizen Contractors Tanzania (ACCT), Arusha Technical College (ATC).
Positive Impact and Success Stories
PUM Netherlands has achieved remarkable success in Tanzania, positively impacting numerous businesses and communities. Several success stories stand as testament to the effectiveness of PUM's knowledge transfer approach:
- MOU with the Tanzania Bakers Association (TBA): In the latest development, the Tanzania Bakers Association (TBA) and PUM Netherlands Senior Experts have joined forces for a three-year collaboration (MOU) starting from January 2023 until December 31, 2025. Their primary objective is to establish a bakery training school in Tanzania. The main focus of this initiative is to foster the growth of sustainable small and medium-sized bakery businesses and promote the production of high-quality bakery products. This will be achieved by offering services such as training programs for bakery trainers and members, as well as providing coaching and support to individual TBA members.
- Ruzuku Tented Camp: PUM experts provided support to Ruzuku Tented Camp, a community-based tourism initiative in the Kilimanjaro region. Through training on hospitality management, marketing, and customer service, the camp improved its service quality and attracted more international tourists. This led to increased revenue, benefiting the local community.
- Kijo Group: PUM experts collaborated with Kijo Group, a furniture manufacturing company, to enhance its production processes and product design. As a result, Kijo Group improved the quality of its furniture, expanded its market reach, and created employment opportunities.
- Kilimo Fresh: PUM Netherlands assisted Kilimo Fresh, a company specializing in post-harvest management and food processing. PUM experts shared knowledge on cold chain management, packaging, and quality control, enabling Kilimo Fresh to extend the shelf life of agricultural produce and access new markets.
- Empowering women in business, case of Miss Mercy Muro who through remote coaching on her business, Mbezi tiles was able to win the ‘Women in Management Africa Award 2022' in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Pictures from the MOU signing between PUM Netherlands and the Tanzania Bakers Association (TBA)
PUM Netherlands' activities in Tanzania have significantly contributed to the country's economic development by empowering local businesses, promoting entrepreneurship, and fostering knowledge exchange. Through the dedicated efforts of PUM senior experts, Tanzanian entrepreneurs and SMEs have gained valuable insights, skills, and tools to thrive in a competitive business environment.
PUM has local representatives in Tanzania stationed in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Mbeya. They are the PUM contact for entrepreneurs, organizations and partners. To contact them, please visit Contact our representatives in 35 countries | PUM.
The Embassy provides regular updates on developments in the agriculture sector. To receive the updates follow us on our Twitter account @NLAgriTanzania and/or subscribe to our newsletter by sending an email to dar-lnv@minbuza.nl.