ONE WEEK OF SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING TRANSFORMS PARTICIPANT’S BUSINESS!

Wilbert on a Computer

Wilbert is one of the beneficiaries of a one week social media training that has ended today at Tumaini University College Iringa, organized by the Iringa Living Lab. And what a week it has been for everybody but more so Wilbert who couldn’t hide his excitement.

His story goes as follows. A first born in a family of seventeen, Wilbert lost his father in 2010. As a result, he could not continue with studies after form four, because his mother didn’t have enough money to take him to high school. He is self-employed selling SIM Cards as a mobile agent for TIGO, a mobile telephone operator. TIGO is currently promoting internet services in the country and have tasked their mobile agents to convince as many customers as possible to use TIGO internet on their phones. The problem for Wilbert though has been his inability to use internet, let alone understand what internet is all about.

So, the social media training by Iringa Living Lab came as a big opportunity for him. After just one week, Wilbert has been introduced to basics of social media and gained confidence in the use of email, face book and blogging. 

Opportunity knocks once, so goes the saying! After realizing that social media is after all for everyone, Wilbert straight away went back to his business and confidently started persuading his customers to join TIGO internet.     This time they responded. In one week, he has managed to convince 48 (yes, forty eight) customers to join TIGO internet, thanks to Wilbert’s newly acquired social media skills and entrepreneurial abilities. And his efforts have not gone unrewarded. He has received his commission from TIGO for connecting so many customers in such a short time.

Wilbert’s story confirms what Iringa Living lab stands for; that new technology can be adopted by all human beings irrespective of social status and it can make a huge difference in their lives.

As Iringa Living Lab, we remain committed to produce many more Wilberts and through the efforts and creativity of every one of us, we believe we can make a difference in the lives of others, without waiting for government. It is possible!

OPPORTUNITY NEXT DOOR

Sometimes we think opportunities are so far from us. Not anymore for Iringa Living Lab entrepreneurship group. The entrepreneurship group was started by the pioneer members of the Iringa Living Lab  after realizing that there are many young people who would be productive but are unfortunately jobless or doing not-so productive work. So, the goal of the group is to help these young people around Iringa Municipality see the opportunities vicinity.

One of the amazing places this team recently visited is Neema Craft, a faith-based NGO in Iringa Municipality where people with disabilities have proved that disability is not inability. Although society had written off these people as “not so productive” they are now turning the “not-productive” raw materials into money. And what an inspiration they have become!

Our team visited them recently to see what they do. It was a great experience! Seeing beautiful paper products made from maize leaves, elephant dung, waste paper; turning broken glass into wonderful jewelry, amazing products from clay, all this done by people with physical disabilities!! What a challenge it has been to our able-bodied members of the entrepreneurship team.

Another visit was to the Small industries Organization (SIDO) that makes small (and even medium sized) machinery for making life easy for entrepreneurs. SIDO stands by the motto (though unwritten), "conceive it, we fabricate it". They have helped many entrepreneurs to breakthrough in the business world by fabricating machines for them . But it seems  there are more entrepreneurs who do not know about SIDO than those who know it. Yet SIDO is located just a few kilometers from Iringa town (precisely, hardly four kilometers from town centre), but not a single member of the entrepreneurship team had visited or even known in detail what SIDO does.

So again this was an opportunity to discover the opportunities next door. Because of the many opportunities at SIDO, another more formal trip is planned by the team. In the meantime though, some members are working on their business ideas. Thinking of what business to do? Opportunities could be waiting for you just next door; you only need to venture out. As our entrepreneurship team  can attest, to succeed we do not necessarily need big ideas, a little creativity, as demonstrated by Neema craft, with a mix of technology as SIDO has proved, could be the trick!