Naema Raymond Uriu is a graduate of the One Stop Centre training in Entrepreneurship, Village Community Banking and Youth Building Brigades (YBB). Before undertaking the training she was running a salon which she has since handed over to her siblings to run. The YBB training involved skills training in construction and building for 20 days; these courses enabled her to mobilize other young men and women into a community youth group. The group made up of 32 young men and women is currently making savings contributing on average of 8,200 Tanzanian shillings (TZsh), equivalent to (5 USD) with the aim of buying plots of land to build houses using the knowledge gained from YBB. So far the group has a total savings of 6,300,000 TZsh (4,000USD). Naema also runs a bakery making bread, fritters and scones and supplies to the local community. With her income she is able to send her 2 sons to school. Among her challenges are stringent requirements from the Tanzania Food and Drugs Association (TFDA) related to labeling, premises and demand from the community which she cannot meet.

Naema has had an impact on the community. The entrepreneurship training has enabled her to gain confidence to start her own business initiatives as well as encouraging other young people to be self-reliant. For example Naema identified a neighbour’s son who was loitering in the streets. She encouraged him to go into water vending business since there was a shortage of water in the neighborhood. Starting with 5 containers (each takes 12 litres) the young man has now 50 containers selling at 500 TZsh each, making more that 100% percent profit on each container. The young man has also employed 3 of his siblings in the business and has diversified and set up a kiosk to sell airtime, mobile phone accessories and charging phones. 

Another example of Naema’s community impact is a local non-governmental organization, Migo Hood Network responsible for youth environment awareness programmes including cabbage collection and community clean ups. She linked them to the One Stop Center to learn skills in business proposal writing. They have since won the local tender for cabbage collection in the area.