Maria Aspires To Be A Great Businesswoman, Tanzania

Maria has turned a personal need into an expanding business using the skills that she learned at the LEI Summit.

The youngest in her family of 5 children, Maria started raising poultry to feed her family, but after attending the LEI Summit in 2021, she decided to get serious about her poultry business. A graduate of Secondary School in Tanzania, Maria has been an Asante Africa Alumni since 2019. She started her business years ago with 30 chickens but gained momentum in 2021. Meanwhile, her entire family supports her business and the income generated from her project supports her and her family.

At the LEI Summit, Maria learned to focus on the details of her business such as establishing a price for her eggs, distributing products to local shops and paying attention to how she raises the chicken. The holiday season is her most profitable time as she sells an average of a tray of eggs per month. LEI taught her that to gain more profit she needed to be innovative in her business. 

Her greatest challenge is keeping her chicken healthy. She hopes to learn more about raising disease-free poultry.

Her advice to youths in the community is to create business ideas that generate income and are welcomed by the community. She also advises youth to follow through and continue developing their business. 

During her free time, Maria and her friends, who have also attended the LEI Summit, volunteer at nearby schools’ leadership clubs to pay-it-forward and inspire other students.  

Maria aspires to become a well-known businesswoman in the poultry industry, have many more chickens and expand her place of business. She is waiting to start post-secondary advanced studies in economics and commerce and wants to become an accountant. When she leaves for school, her brother will manage her storefront until she returns on holidays.