Babson College and FoTZC Inspire Tanzanian Youth Through Entrepreneurship Academy

WELLESLEY, Mass., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Babson College and Focus on Tanzanian Communities (FoTZC), a non-profit organization with over 15 years of experience partnering with Tanzanian communities to overcome economic and social challenges, are bringing the Babson Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy to Karatu, Tanzania.

The Academy, which was first conducted in Sekondi, Ghana and Byimana, Rwanda in 2011, is bringing 80 selected students together at Ganako Secondary School in Karatu, Tanzania for a one-week intensive learning experience March 19-23. During the Academy, students are equipped with practical skills to help them become leaders in their communities and put their ideas into action.

The program encourages students to develop business ideas throughout the week and the top performers will have the opportunity to pitch their business idea to their peers, VIP guests, and a panel of judges during the closing ceremony. Furthermore, the organizers expect that some of the students will go on to form new businesses and social ventures from the connections that are made at the Academy.

The program is led by Babson College Undergraduate Dean Dennis Hanno and supported by a team of Babson students, alumni, and staff who are working with small groups of students, sharing with them their own thoughts on becoming an entrepreneurial leader.

"The Academy presents an amazing opportunity to inspire youth to become innovators and job creators, while also giving all segments of the Babson community a chance to share their knowledge and work in a developing country context," said Christopher D. Smith, BELA organizer, Country Director of Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center, and Babson Class of  '09 MSM '10.

The Academy will also lay the groundwork for Babson College and Focus on Tanzanian Communities to establish a full-time entrepreneurship center. The staff at the center will work to help aspiring and active businesspeople start and grow their businesses. In October 2010, Babson College partnered with the Rwanda Private Sector Federation to open a similar center in Kigali, Rwanda called the Babson-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Center (BREC).

The Babson Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy and the center build upon more than 10 years of business instruction across Africa. Babson has offered numerous courses in Ghana, among them Culture, Society & Entrepreneurship in a Developing Economy and has taught entrepreneurship to thousands of high school students in the region. In Rwanda, Babson has actively organized student consultants to support several entrepreneurs starting business beginning in 2008 and established BREC with two full-time staff in 2010.

About Babson College

Babson College, located in Wellesley, Massachusetts in the United States, is recognized internationally for its entrepreneurial leadership in a changing global environment. The College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds(TM). Babson College is a dynamic living and learning laboratory, where students, faculty, and staff work together to address real-world problems--while at the same time evolving methods and advancing programs. Babson shapes the leaders our world needs most: those who can envision and navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to create economic and social value. www.babson.edu

About Focus on Tanzanian Communities (FoTZC)

Focus on Tanzanian Communities has partnered with communities in Tanzania for over 15 years to provide critical resources for development. The mission is to support sustainable projects that overcome many economic and social challenges present in local Tanzanian communities with a special focus on education promotion and women's empowerment projects. All projects are community-driven and include direct collaboration between FoTZC and communities from beginning to end. www.fotzc.org

CONTACT: Michael Chmura, [email protected], +1-781-239-4549

SOURCE Babson College