Strategic Plan - Dar Es Salaam University Entrepreneurship Forum

DAR ES SALAAM UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM

FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN (2009 – 2014)

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D a r e s s a l a a m U n i v e r s i t y E n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p F o r u m

Prepared by: Gabriel Bakilana Founding General Secretary of DUEF (2001 – 2005)

DUEF: Introduction and History Dar Es Salaam University Entrepreneurship forum (DUEF) is a student-run, nonpartisan and non profit making Organisation that aims at imparting entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to its members and non- members, who then spread the skills to the rest of society, in this way assisting in the building a general prosperity mindset and build a society of job creators; thus enlarging the job market in both, the formal and informal sectors. It was established back in March 2001, and ever since, DUEF has worked with other Organisations that provide Business Support Services (BDS) by providing competent personnel, trainers and advisors in various business related fields. DUEF works with the University of Dar Es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre (UDEC) as a partner and guiding body. It also works in partnership with Junior Achievement Tanzania Chapter (JAT), Centre for sustainable Development Initiatives (CSDI), AIESEC, Youth of the United Nations Association of Tanzania (YUNA), Tanzania Youth Vision Association (TYVA), Opportunities Industrialization Centers of Tanzania (OIC Tanzania), and many other Organisations, both profit making and non-profit making. 1. Vision Statement To Achieve understanding and appreciation of Entrepreneurship by Tanzanian University Students and society at large by 2014. 2. Mission Statement To inform the community of DUEF’s roles and capabilities, to maintain standards of excellence and best practice in entrepreneurship development, to collect and disseminate Entrepreneurship knowledge, to develop entrepreneurship opportunities for members, and to promote self-employment /careers. 3. Objectives of DUEF   

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To promote entrepreneurial skills among University students and society at large. To act as an advocacy agency for more participation of youth in Business activities. To make information and knowledge on entrepreneurship and business operations available to those who need and will benefit from it, particularly to youth and women groups. To promote Entrepreneurship through publications (both web and print), conferences and workshops. To cooperate with other Organizations, both local and international, in the fight against poverty, using entrepreneurship as a major tool. To conduct and assist other organisations in Research related to entrepreneurship and other business operations. To promote community self-employment. To act as a rootstock of future business-people.

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To foster personal development and participation in business activities among members and associates. Assisting members in changing circumstances into business opportunities and enable them to benefit from them. Giving the members and associates exposure and experience on Entrepreneurship, business opportunities, and business operations. 4. Internal Organisation and Structure

The moving driving force behind DUEF is the Executive Council. The Executive Council is composed of the Chairperson, General Secretary, Director - Finance, Director - Planning, Director – Promotion, the Registrar, and two other members elected from the pool of members. The Executive Council’s major tasks are to execute and supervise all DUEF programmes and activities, to uphold the forum’s policy and ensure that it is adhered to. The Executive Council members are elected by the General Meeting of all members of the forum, after being nominated by the members. The Executive Council of DUEF is answerable to the members through the General Meeting, composed of ALL members of DUEF, which is held at least once per year. The Quorum at all General Meetings shall be 2/3 of all the members. Each Director/Registrar is assisted in his/her duties by 2 other DUEF members who will not be members of the Executive Council. These Assistants shall be appointed by the respective Directors/ Registrar, and their appointment shall be confirmed by the Executive Council. Every member of the Executive Council shall hold office for 2 year(s) from the date of election and shall be eligible for re-election (Only ONE reelection chance is allowed). ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

DUEF MEMBERS

CHAIRPERSON GENERAL SECRETARY

Director: Finance

Director: Planning

Director: Publicity

2 ASSISTANTS FOR EACH SECTION HEAD (8 IN TOTAL)

Registrar

The Executive Council meets at least twice in every moth to evaluate the implementation of DUEF functions. In cases when the Chairperson is absent for any reason, the General Secretary acts as the Chairman until such time the Chairperson returns. In such cases, the Chairman notifies the Executive Council of his absence.

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MEMBERSHIP

DUEF’s existence is dependent on membership. Membership is open to all University of Dar es salaam Students interested in Entrepreneurship and Business in general, regardless of their field of study. Members are required to be people of goodwill, who are willing to use their skills for furtherance of DUEF mission. Membership is open to individuals as well as corporate members. Any member may opt to resign his/her membership by giving notice in writing to the Executive Council. Every such notice shall, unless otherwise expressed, be deemed to take effect from the first day of January, following the receipt of the notice by the General Secretary. In general, any member shall cease to be a member of DUEF if: -

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He/she goes contrary to the constitution of DUEF and confirmed by the Executive Council. If He/ She dies. If he/she is convicted of a Criminal Offence punishable by imprisonment of at least three (3) months. If he/she becomes of unsound mind. If he/she absents him/herself for no valid reasons for more than THREE consecutive meetings (if Member of Executive Council). If He/She resigns.

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FINANCE

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DUEF started with very little in terms of material contribution but with a lot in terms of goodwill, knowledge and willingness to share it. At first, most of the financing came from membership fees/subscriptions and voluntary donations. The members decide and fix such amounts of membership fees/subscriptions at the annual general meetings. However, DUEF has, in several occasions, received grants and donations from other associations, corporate bodies (both public and private) within and outside the University of Dar es salaam and from individuals. DUEF operates a Current Bank Account with NBC Ltd., Mlimani Branch. All monies belonging to the association, including donations, subscriptions, etc., are paid into this Account before any disbursement.

5. SWOT Analysis  -

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Strengths Recognition of Existence by the University of Dar es Salaam Administration, particularly the University of Dar es Salaam Business School. Few but committed members (currently DUEF has 128 active members) Close ties with the University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre (UDEC). Due to the nature of the Organisation and its activities, there are no real competitors to its operations. Weaknesses Weak Financial Ability: Poor collection of subscriptions (currently subscriptions stand at TShs 10,000 p.a. per individual member), weak fundraising ability, low inflow of aid and donations. Weak Leadership: Leaders are not actively involved and committed to the mission of DUEF. Weak Communication among members. Most members do not make use of email facilities at the University, which is the main communication method used for communication. DUEF does not have Financial Regulations Opportunities There are numerous ideas for activities which can be done by DUEF in the future. There are readily available sponsors for entrepreneurship development activities, such as the University of Dar es Salaam in general, the University of Dar es Salaam Business School, UDEC, and numerous companies which are committed to enterprise development. DUEF can always rely on the guidance and cooperation of the University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre in terms of expertise, and assistance. UDEC’s open door policy towards DUEF has proven to be very valuable. With good plans, activities, and improved communication and promotion of the organisation, DUEF can grow to unimaginable proportions. Challenges Implementation of good plans is subject to commitment of leaders and associate organisations to DUEF.

6. STRATEGIES FOR 2009 - 2014 For the next five years, DUEF wants to pursue the following strategies:  Strategy 1: To expand the Membership Base and Scope DUEF needs to have more committed members in order to enable a bigger number of students benefit from its existence. By 2014, DUEF wants to achieve an active membership base of 1,000 Individual members.

 Strategy 2: To strengthen DUEF’s Financial Ability From the wider membership base, DUEF stands to benefit from increased subscriptions. DUEF also needs to find and make effective use of other fund-raising methods in order to make the organisation active.  Strategy 3: Improve Members’ skills and competencies. DUEF members need skills such as financial management, effective marketing, time management, business and strategic planning, consulting skills, etc. in order to contribute well towards the development of their organisation and to enable them be good consultants ad businesspeople. In the next five years, DUEF will strive to improve the skills of its members by providing entrepreneurial training.  Strategy 4: To Provide Improve Communication among members. DUEF will formulate and adopt new, diverse and effective communication methods for information gathering and sharing, as well as publicity of its activities. 

Strategy 5: To raise the profile and participation of the University Student community, the public, especially youth in entrepreneurial activities by organising more activities for them.

In the next five years, DUEF will organize more activities for members and non-members to participate, main aim being to enable more people, particularly youth, to benefit from its existence, and to popularize the Organisation. In this way, more will be induced to join DUEF and more sponsors will be interested in supporting such activities.

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Strategy 6: Grooming good and competent future leaders.

DUEF will start a special leadership grooming project that will bring up potential leaders and offer them a chance to show their skills in practice.

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Strategy 7: Creating Working Partnerships with Other Organisations through UDEC.

DUEF needs to work with other organisations in order to build its own capacity through sharing of experiences and assimilation of knowledge. To attain this DUEF is set to revive old relations and create new partnerships with other Organisations. This is only possible by working closely with UDEC.

7. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION Strategy 1: To expand the Membership Base and Scope SN

Strategy Implementation

Key Performance Indicators

1.1

Recruit new and Retain old members Recruit new and Retain old members Recruit new and Retain old members Recruit new and Retain old members Recruit new and Retain old

Attaining a registered level of 200 Individual members by April 2010 Attaining a registered level of 400 Individual members by April 2011 Attaining a registered level of 600 Individual members by April 2012 Attaining a registered level of 800 Individual members by April 2013 Attaining a registered level of

1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5

Results to date

members

1,000 Individual members by April 2014

Strategy 2: To strengthen DUEF’s Financial Ability SN

Strategy Implementation

Key Performance Indicators

2.1

Effective collection of membership fees/subscriptions

2.2

Organizing an annual fundraising dinner

2.3

Organizing an annual fundraising charity walk event

2.4

Preparation of Financial Regulations Implementation of Financial Regulations

Attaining a 100% level of subscription collection by April 2010 At least One fund-raising dinner organized by April 2010, and every year up to 2014 At least One fund-raising charity walk event organized by April 2010, and every year up to 2014 Financial Regulations document prepared by December 2009 Financial Regulations Implementation to start by January 2010

2.5

Results to date

Strategy 3: Improve Members’ skills and competencies. SN

Strategy Implementation

Key Performance Indicators

3.1

To assess the training needs of members and their ability to contribute towards meeting the training costs. Development of Training Course Timetable To conduct Training courses in collaboration with UDEC

Training needs assessment/study conducted by June 2009

3.2 3.3

Results to date

Training Course Timetable developed by July 2009 Training courses conducted in collaboration with UDEC as per Training Course Timetable developed.

Strategy 4: To Provide Improve Communication among members. SN

Strategy Implementation

Key Performance Indicators

4.1

Development of DUEF website, and linking it to the UDEC website.

DUEF website developed by July 2009.

4.2

Development of Members’ database and Yahoo! mailing group.

Members’ database and Yahoo mailing group developed by June 2009.

4.2

Re-launching of “The Entrepreneur” electronic magazine.

“The Entrepreneur” electronic magazine re-launched by August 2009.

4.4

Monthly Electronic Publishing of “The Entrepreneur” electronic magazine.

“The Entrepreneur” electronic magazine published on a monthly basis from August 2009.

Results to date

Strategy 5: To raise the profile and participation of the University student community, the public, especially youth in entrepreneurial activities by organising more activities for them. SN

Strategy Implementation

Key Performance Indicators

5.1

To organize an annual Entrepreneurship essay-writing competition.

Annual Entrepreneurship essaywriting competition organized by April 2010 and for each of the 4 years to follow.

5.2

To organize an annual University Entrepreneurship Awareness Day, in collaboration with UDEC for new University students.

Annual University Entrepreneurship Awareness Day for new University students organised in collaboration with UDEC by April 2010 and for each of the 4 years to follow.

5.3

To organize monthly Public lectures on Entrepreneurship related topics in collaboration with professionals working with reputable Organisations in Tanzania.

Monthly Public lectures on Entrepreneurship related topics organised in collaboration with professionals working with reputable Organisations in Tanzania.

Strategy 6: Grooming good and competent future leaders. SN Strategy Implementation Key Performance Indicators 6.1 Development of Leadership Grooming Program

Leadership Grooming Program Developed by December 2009.

6.2 Implementation of the Continuous Leadership Grooming Program

Commencement of the Implementation of the Continuous Leadership Grooming Program by January 2010 50 DUEF members trained on Monitoring and evaluation by April 2010.

6.3 Training of Leaders and Members on monitoring and evaluation. This program will be continuous and frequent. 6.4 A group of FIVE Monitoring and Evaluation Consultants selected and engaged to perform M&E functions for DUEF activities. Each year a new group will be selected to undertake this task, following the same principles in order to give a chance for the best trained members to put their

- Group of FIVE Monitoring and Evaluation Consultants selected from trained members engaged to perform M&E functions for DUEF activities by May 2010. - Terms of reference for this work prepared by April 2010.

Results to date

Results to date

skills into pactise. Strategy 7: Creating Working Partnerships with Other Organisations through UDEC. SN Strategy Implementation Key Performance Indicators Results to date 7.1 Consultation with UDEC on Consultative meeting held with possibility of creating UDEC on possibility of creating Partnerships with other Partnerships with other Organisations through UDEC, Organisations through UDEC identification of such by June 2009. Organisations, and setting of a schedule for implementation of the discussed and agreed issues. 7.2 Implementation of the agreed Implementation of the agreed issues following a issues started by August 2009. Consultative meeting with UDEC on possibility of creating Partnerships with other Organisations through UDEC. 8. MONITORING AND EVALUATION A good monitoring and evaluation system needs to be developed by DUEF. At the moment DUEF has no capacity to take undertake such functions, and will therefore have to rely on UDEC to undertake this function, at least for the year 2009 – 2010. But this strategic plan has made provisions for DUEF leaders and members to develop competencies in monitoring and evaluation systems under Strategy 6.