By Adonis Byemelwa
The Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) has, over the past five years, transformed the lives of more than 50,000 youth and women entrepreneurs in both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar through its tailored BUS entrepreneurship training.
The programme has nurtured innovation, self-reliance, and resilience, with at least 5,000 participants securing start-up grants to overcome early business challenges, including access to machinery crucial for their ventures.
According to TAHA’s Chief Programmes Manager, Simon Mlay, those who did not receive direct grants were linked to financial institutions for loans and market access support. “For those unable to get the grants, the training connected them with banks and opportunities that made their dreams realistic,” he explained. This approach has ensured that even those outside the winning circle find pathways to growth.
Known as BUS—Bäuerliche Unternehmer Schulungen—the agribusiness training programme has become more than a classroom. It is a community, with alumni gathering annually to share success stories, address challenges, and plan for the future.
BUS Coordinator Alex Allen describes it as “a life-changing platform” that empowers young people and women in horticulture to move beyond survival towards self-reliance. Each year, new ideas emerge, carried forward by a growing awareness that business blueprints and innovative action can open doors once thought unreachable.
Smallholder farmers across Tanzania have traditionally focused on self-sufficiency, often treating market opportunities or collaboration as luxuries. The BUS model challenges this mindset, training participants to recognise their strengths, skills, and opportunities, while shaping them into future-oriented thinkers.
Kassim Abdullah Kassim, a Master Trainer, observed that once farmers awaken to their potential, they begin to see production through the lens of market demand, creating clear concepts and actionable plans for their ventures.
This systematic approach has three stages. The first fosters self-discovery and practical learning, encouraging entrepreneurs to innovate beyond conventional practices. The second, widely regarded as the most demanding, develops analytical and market-creation skills, often testing participants’ numeracy and critical thinking.
The third sharpens business planning, instilling confidence and unlocking the entrepreneur within. “Although the focus has been on farmers and livestock keepers, everyone can benefit from BUS—it sets free the entrepreneur in each participant,” Kassim noted.
The impact is visible. One example is Issa Shamte Omar, a banana farmer from Pemba, who saw an opportunity in producing Bokashi, a fermented organic compost that improves soil health and boosts yields.
Initially hampered by the lack of proper storage during rainy seasons, Shamte persevered, refining his pitch year after year. In the most recent cohort, his persistence paid off when his action plan secured him Sh13.75 million in seed funding. “I wrote the idea every year, but I did not win. I continued improving it, and this year I convinced the judges,” he said, urging others to “keep knocking.”
Alongside him, four other finalists walked away with prizes ranging from Sh8.25 million to Sh2.75 million for their innovative business ideas aimed at solving community challenges. These moments underline the essence of BUS: ideas are tested not only against theory but against their potential to transform society.
The programme’s success has been strengthened by a wide network of partners, from development agencies like Andreas Hermes Akademie (AHA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Saxony in Germany, to local banks and public institutions such as the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA). Ministries of Agriculture and Regional Government have also been key, supporting licensing, capital access, and institutional guidance.
To date, TAHA has trained 37 trainers of trainers, with 29 based in Zanzibar and the rest across Arusha, Kilimanjaro, and Manyara. These trainers now pass on the BUS model, spreading its influence and ensuring the sustainability of the initiative. “We keep our cohorts small, not more than 20 participants at a time, so that the training is personal and intensive,” Allen explained.
Judges and observers at this year’s event expressed admiration for the creativity and originality of the business pitches. Dr. Edmond Matafu, a TAHA Board Member, commended the trainees, saying the programme had exceeded expectations.
“It is the beginning for the winners to strengthen their businesses and seize greater opportunities. Those who lost should refine their ideas and come back stronger,” he encouraged, extending gratitude to AHA and other partners.
Government representatives also recognised the programme’s alignment with national policy goals. TISEZA Zonal Manager, Veronica Mrema, pointed out that BUS supports the government’s push to add value to crops, while Bahati Ntweve from Arusha City Council advised trainees to embrace uniqueness. “The market is highly competitive,” she warned, “and only those who innovate daily as market researchers will sustain their products.”
TAHA’s BUS entrepreneurship training has thus become more than an intervention; it is a movement reshaping the mindset of young farmers and women entrepreneurs across Tanzania.
By combining training, mentorship, finance, and market access, it continues to unlock hidden potential, turning dreams into viable enterprises and proving that resilience, consistency, and creativity can revolutionise livelihoods.