The crab cakes, spicy grilled calamari, veggie burger, AND crepes with
bananas and ice cream with chocolate sauce. It was like tasting
Banana's Foster... YUM
*Here I am next to a cute fountain outside the restaurant.
A representative from Tanzania's Round Table of CEO's led the
discussion on growing changes and struggles reflective of the move
from a socialist gov't with centralized economy --> to a capitalistic
gov't with a market economy.
I found it very interesting that they have rolled out a "Mind Set
Change Program," to influence & globalize the Tanzanian business
leaders. It is very refreshing to have CEO's openly admit that some
things are really "top-down" issues. Management nears to set the
example, always. Perhaps we could run a case study to study how
successful they are AND bring this ideal, in true form, to U.S.
companies.
Okay... We are off to dinner at The Sea Cliff Village, Ciao!
There are about 30,000 students, 5,000 of which are post-grad, about
35% are women - with less than 20% engineering students being women.
80% of students will make it through their first year.
Next we listened intently to a presentation by Stephano Kingazi,
Agricultural Professor, pursuing his PhD at UDES. He really projected
an inclusive perspective by explaining the history of Tanzania, where
they are going right now with the Private Sector Development Strategy,
and an overview of Tanzania's Key Economic Sectors, explaining the
struggles & opportunities.
Picture: The Business School's administrative building
TANZANITE Jewelry
So last night the four of us enjoyed the change of scenery (this area
is where all the international ambassadors' homes are located), as
well as the great conversations, and delicious food.
See my yummy crab claws?! Tastes very similar to Dungeness crab!!!
Until they arrived, NMB was 100% gov't owned, and focused on banking &
payments mainly. NOW that they are privatized, they are only 51%
gov't owned AND can focus on financing as well!
NMB is the #1 bank in Tanzania, with the most branches across the
country, they are the most profitable, and biggest bank - balance
sheet wise. One year ago... NO ATMs! Now NMB has 100. All this was
made possible by using "Dutch Know How."
1) You can change an organization very fast by using your background
& experiences.
2) Make sure you have a solid ground to start from (good IT is tres
important for banking).
3) Have good training programs for your employees.
Christiaanse says, "Nothing we do here is NEW," it is just new to
Africa.
Marketing & Branding did not exist, so they sponsored the National
Football (soccer) Team & provide leather soccer balls with the NMB logo.
Christiaanse has worked with agricultural cooperatives to help their
business. With some help, in Southern Tanzania, where they produce
CASHEWS, the farmers were able to receive 30 - 40% more $$$ for their
crops than the previous year. Everything was repaid, as well as the
interest acrued! That is how successful the farmers were as a co-op...
Strength In Numbers!
"I am convinced that what we do, as a bank, is the best way that we
can develop a country," Christiaanse told us, as he referred to
himself as a 'bloody Dutchman'.
Because saving is a foreign concept and they would like to move the
banking culture away from borrowing, they introduced the "Hippo-
Bank"!!! (Hippo instead of 'piggy' to fit in with the Muslim culture.)
