Sky’s the limit for Asma, 23, as she wins SME contest

Arusha. Asma Amour Ali, a 23-year old university student, neither looked entirely surprised nor over-excited.

She was cool and humbled to be declared the first winner of a competition pitting small entrepreneurs in the horticulture sector.

“I will use the money to expand my vegetable farm on our family farm outside Zanzibar town,” she told The Citizen on Wednesday.

That was minutes after she was declared the first winner of a competition pitting about 60 small entrepreneurs in the horticulture industry countrywide.

The process was undertaken by the Arusha-based Taha Group in collaboration with Trias, a regional NGO with head office here.

She walked away with Sh12.5 million for the purchase of inputs, having emerged first among the ten finalists after a four-hour grilling by experts in the industry.

Runners-up were Mohamed Ali Juma from Pemba and Ms Pendo Mzava from Arusha who received Sh7 million and Sh5 million respectively for same.

Two other entrepreneurs in the top five - Yusuf Haji Suleiman, also from the Isles, and Ombeni Godfrey (Arusha) - received Sh2.5 million each to with which buy farm inputs.

After receiving a dummy cheque from the Trias country coordinator, Ms Ritha Tarimo, the soft-spoken Asma said the inputs would boost her farming business.

“My focus will be expanding my crop fields in the cultivation of peppers, passions, tomatoes and other vegetables as well as broiler production,” she said.

The money would also be spent to purchase fertilisers needed to improve productivity of the farm located at Dunga, Zanzibar South, some 18 kilometres from the town.

Ms Asma said she would have no difficulty in dividing her time from attending her farm production and lectures at the university.

She is a final year student at the Zanzibar-based Sumait University, pursuing a degree in Science (biochemistry) with Education.

She said she developed interest in entrepreneurship - through vegetable farming and the like - about five years ago upon completion of her secondary education.

According to Taha Group senior business manager Simon Mlay,the winners of the competition would only be given hard cash but farm inputs of that value.

The exercise has been supported by BUS, a German organization dealing with training of small scale farmers and entrepreneurs and Andreas Hermes Academy (Aha).

It is also supported by Equity Bank and Rikolto.

The latter is an international non-governmental organisation which has its Tanzania country office in Arusha.