Cambridge Development Initiative

Cambridge Development Initiative’s entrepreneurship project was established in 2014, and has gone from strength to strength since then. The project runs an annual eight week course in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The aim of this course is to help local students and recent graduates develop and utilise the skills required to start their own business. The course undertakes this by focussing on the concept of ‘Human-Centred Design’ (HCD). HCD is the methodology wherein one develops a business by first identifying a problem that needs to be solved. We then work to develop socially positive solutions to the problem at hand. The objective of the course is that by the end of the eight week period the (approximately) 40 participants will be involved in an enterprise. The programme is designed to provide the participants with a clear understanding of what the next steps will be if they would like to carry their business forward. This involves developing business plans as well as finding incubators and other programmes to help the entrepreneurs move forward. The outcomes of this project have been that so far nearly 100 students have benefited from the support network we have developed, with this year being the biggest so far in terms of capacity and resources available. We have established relationships with local and international NGOs as well as local Universities and government bodies to action this goal.