Utete, TZ – DFT starts community shop business – Jul 2023

Finally, DFT family business and income grew after launching a retailer shop in the village center to assist in providing home basic needs, school supplies and other necessary social services in the community.

I express my sincere thanks to KCM and Better Lives for their collaborations and trusting my family for another business loan opportunity to provide shopping service in the community. My first day customers had a very positive response shopping and assisting me in marketing in the neighborhood for more customers, said DFT.

The first day’s earning was 40,000 TZS / US$17, and on the second day was 60,000 TZS / US$25 , and the current average earning is 75,000 TZS / US$31 per day. This is very encouraging and I feel grateful that the business growth is more than expected to be in the first month.

Moreover, DFT also learned that customers’ challenges are opportunities because of his list of customers’ inquiries during the first month in business. Customers are experiencing financial services challenges, like banking and mobile money transactions services since they are not available in the village. This makes other clients visit nearby towns for money services and do their shopping there which makes DFT lose out potential customers.

The mobile money transaction is another major service DFT wants to invest in the future to improve its business lifecycle and income. This service concept will save people time and costs shopping away, paying school fee, electricity grid and water bill and other social services. The development of social services infrastructure like Bibititi high school, Local government offices, Health center and the tarmac road has created job opportunities and increased the number of people and demand of the money service in his village. DFT is dreaming of building another Utete town in Kindwitwi by copying successful Utete town businesses, this is possible due to the ongoing social infrastructure development.