VIDEO: Tanzanian SMEs make their presence felt

Nairobi. Five small and medium-sized enterprises from Tanzania, including start-ups showcase how their respective businesses are tackling malnutrition and are innovatively improving diet in the country to pitch for new investment opportunities at the Nutrition.

Africa Invest Forum (NAIF), organised by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), in partnership with Royal DSM, the SUN Business Network (SBN) and African Business Magazine.

 The five Tanzanian SMES are among the 21 companies from other African nations who are pitching for funds from the investors in a first of its kind nutrition-invest SUN pitch competition that is linking investors and investees at the forum. This aims to position nutrition as a promising investment sector.

NeemaLugangira, one of the participants representing her start-up Healthy Maisha based in Dar es Salaam tells The Citizen that it has been an encouraging experience so far to learn that nutrition-driven businesses also have an opportunity. Her start-up takes fruits and vegetables and cold-compresses them into juices without adding any water, additives or sugar targeting anaemic children, overweight women and anaemic women who are about 1.9 million in the country. She says,

“It is refreshing to know that even the likes of us have a huge opportunity. We are just four months old and being at this forum has been a huge awakening for me. Up until yesterday the amount that I was pitching for, I had to triple it because when investors, experts and participants hear your idea, they advise you not to limit. Up until the last hour, I was re-doing my numbers. It has been very encouraging and a great learning experience.”

Other four companies are Afco Investment Co, Crop Bioscience solutions, East Africa Fruits and Kibaigwa Flour Supplies.

In a brief discussion with The Citizen, Greg Garrett, Director of Food

Policy and Financing, GAIN tells, “SMEs have been dubbed as the largest providers of food in Tanzania, and Africa as whole, they are critical in shaping the nutritional outcomes of local food systems.

Yet, barriers to accessing finance mean that agri-food SMEs are not achieving their full potential in developing and scaling upmarket-based solutions that can improve the consumption of safe and nutritious foods. The competition aims to bridge this gap by providing technical assistance, business support and linking SMEs to investors.”