Maida Waziri: From hawking shirts to constructing dams

Dar es Salaam. Before making her way to the top of the male-dominated construction industry in Tanzania, Maida Waziri tried her hand at many ventures.

The 47-year entrepreneur last week launched her book titled ‘Sauti ya Mjasiriamali: Kesho Yako Ni Uthubutu’, meaning ‘The Voice of the Entrepreneur: Your Tomorrow Depends On Derring-do’, which covers her life from childhood to carving out a niche in the construction industry in Tanzania.

She started from selling secondhand clothes on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam but now she owns a class-two construction company.

She ran a tailoring shop, raised cows for milk, owned dadadalas, sold office supplies, uniforms, furniture, and car seat covers, and even ran a sea transport business before quitting due to a fear of drowning.

Some of these endeavours were successful, others not so much, but the common element they share is that Maida has not been afraid of working hard. She kept on pushing forward no matter the result. If something didn’t pan out, she’d pivot and try something new.

“I walk around with my eyes wide open for opportunities. Following my instincts has served me well when chasing business deals. You don’t need an education to start a business, you just need creativity, the ability to understand what customers need, and the courage to follow through,” she says simply.

As a secondary school student, Maida always admired street vendors. At 16 years of age, after completing O Level – and to the dismay of her parents who were hoping she’d continue her education – she knew what her next move would be.

“My heart was beating with anticipation. I wondered which business a young girl could start with the least capital. I had seen some hawkers selling used clothes door to door. They were all men, but I didn’t care so I took all I had – Sh10,000 – and started. My parents could not believe it, but they knew I was a very strong-willed girl and allowed me to follow my heart. I would get up at 4am and spend the day walking long distances selling mitumba. It was exhausting and there were harsh words from many people as I was the only female hawker in sight. By the close of day, my whole body ached but seeing that profit gave me the strength to do it all over again the following morning.”

Selling mitumba was lucrative and Maida managed to enroll at YMCA College for a tailoring course. A year later, she opened a tailoring shop in her parent’s home where she continued selling mitumba and items that she was making. After two years, she was married and left home but continued her entrepreneurial efforts raising cows for milk and producing car-seat covers for government vehicles after her new business, Ibra Enterprises, won a tender.

That big break where she earned Sh100 million enabled Maida to expand operations to cover office stationery, furniture, and carpeting services.

Business was going well until Maida had her next great insight.

“Visiting my clients in their offices, I noticed how rundown buildings were. I imagined there was a market for good affordable construction, so I studied the sector and learned the ABCs of the business. I’ll never forget the day I told my friends and family that I had registered a construction company. Most of them thought I was mad. I had no background in the profession, no experience, so no one encouraged me. I was told I was wasting my time and money. But I didn’t listen to any one… only my heart,” she recalls.

“I had seen a need. I had seen a business opportunity.”

Maida has a diploma in marketing, studied business management and entrepreneurship at the University of Dar es Salaam and later international entrepreneurship through Graca Machel Trust.

Best female contractor

Ibra Contractors has emerged as one of the most respected general contracting firms in Tanzania employing over 300 direct and indirect workers.

Starting at class seven with simple renovations and the sale of building materials, her firm is now in class two registered building and civil engineering construction.

The firm has leveraged its reputation for quality, timeliness and on-budget delivery to borrow funds to finance complex projects such as the construction of high-rise buildings, roads, bridges and dams.

Yes, dams and 200 other big projects including those of the People’s Bank of Zanzibar, NMB Bank and the Sinza Court. In 2011, President Jakaya Kikwete declared it the best female-owned construction firm during the opening ceremony of the country’s annual gathering for engineers and contractors.

Maida is keen to drop the woman-owned part of this accolade and simply become the best performing construction firm overall but she acknowledges the obstacles to such an objective.

“Since our country gained independence over half a century ago, the construction industry has been a man’s domain. Many women crowd the lower end of the sector’s supply chain, but very few own their own construction firms.

This is the case in many businesses but more so in male-dominated sectors where woman like me have to force our way forward despite heavy opposition. We also have the problem of perception.

People believe women cannot do difficult jobs or have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. But that’s nonsense. Women just need self-confidence, to dream big, and be prepared to go that extra mile.”

But Maida doesn’t dismiss the challenges women face and she has established Voice of Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania (VoWET), a dynamic not-for-profit women’s partnership that seeks to revolutionize the way women do business in Tanzania.

Through advocacy, capacity building and networking, the organisation will harness female power for nationwide economic transformation and empowerment.

Dynamic entrepreneur

She recently established Ibra Afrika, a holding company that has a lineup of new housing estates, and has plans to branch outside of Tanzania’s borders and capture the larger East African market in Ibra’s area of expertise.

“You might find it funny to hear but selling mitumba all those years ago helped me understand the importance of creative thinking in business and why the needs of customers are the best business opportunities. I’m still walking around with my eyes open waiting to see where the next fortune lies. I guess I will always be a big dreamer.”