social enterprise

Social Enterprise Clusters: a good idea for technology diffusion?

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A good size of research and a number of contemporary publications have been dedicated to industrial clusters.[1] Industrial clusters, in modern times, proved to be main hubs of technological innovation and critical transformations in society-technology dynamics. Whether in developing or ‘developed’ (or industrialized) societies, industrial clusters are recognized as pivotal sites of technological change that continue to influence societies at large.

Industrial clusters come in different shapes and sizes.… More

KAKUTE: a Local African Social Enterprise

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The term ‘social enterprise’ may have been coined recently (relatively), in the Western world, to try to capture and define somewhat new organizational models that do not fit the conventional ‘private sector, public sector and NGO’ categories. These are supposed to be organizations that do not belong to the public sector (which can be easily verified) but also not quite fitting for either the private business or the NGO definition.… More

Biogas Construction Enterprises, Tanzania

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What do you know about biogas technology?

If you live in a society where agriculture and livestock keeping is a major component of the local economy, then you need to know about biogas technology. It is a simple technology that recruits the help of anaerobic bacteria, in the absence of oxygen, to break down organic matter and produce a mixture of gases in the process.… More

Bernard Kiwia: Technology Innovator on the Ground

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The process of shedding light on the work of Africans in technology innovation, inside Africa, should never stop. It also should never be underestimated.

In modern history, no country has been able to achieve genuine economic and technological transformation without its own people taking the lead. African countries, such as Tanzania, are no exception. When we hear much talk about local capacity building, it should usually mean something like finding talented and skilled natives, like Bernard Kiwia, and assisting them with finding the channels and means to express their creativity; not in a paternalistic way, but in a way of collaboration and cooperation.… More

Microfranchising and Last Mile Distribution: Making Impact, but…

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I first came to know about microfranchising in the context of developing societies through my work in Tanzania in 2013. The company I worked with, as a product development fellow, used what seemed to me at the time to be a very unique and effective way of delivering its products to the farthest rural communities while at the same time enhancing the local economic cycle by engaging local community members as business partners (instead of simply customers).… More