About
Founded in 2011
We are a dynamic non-governmental, non-profit organization, operating in United republic of Tanzania to contribute in ending the cycle of poverty by enhancing inclusion of marginalized groups in formal economic services.
We are registered under Tanzania’s the NGO Act with registration number 00NGO/000463
Our goal is to contribute in ending the cycle of poverty by enhancing inclusion of marginalized groups in formal economic services in Tanzania.
Naweza was founded in 2011 by a team of experts, former implementers and professionals with more than two-decade experience in delivering impactful Economic Strengthening interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Our Objectives
- To be leader in sustainable poverty alleviation programing in Tanzania.
- To establish and manage literacy-based savings led micro finance program that helps vulnerable groups particularly poor women and youth acquire skills in managing micro, small and medium enterprises
- To build capacity of village saving and lending groups and champion linkages and access to services offered by public and private institutions.
- To network and collaborate with other programs that work on areas to mitigate poverty, impact HIV pandemic and management of natural resources
Vision
Empowered society where everyone has equal access to productive resources and live to their full potential for dignified lives.
Mission
To build a thriving and resilient society through enhanced access to vital skills and resources needed by women, girls, youth and elderly to earn a living and address the root causes of inequality and poverty
Values
- Respect
- Integrity
- Inclusion
Our team
Hon. Sophia Wambura , J (Rtd)
Board Chairperson
Retired Judge of the High Court of Tanzania and President of the East African Magistrates and Judges Association [EAMJA]. Retired as a Judge In charge of the High Court Labour Division in October, 2020 after serving as both a Resident Magistrate, Registrar and Judge in the Judiciary of Tanzania for almost 35 years. Judge Wambura is a Trainer of Trainers in Human Rights and specifically Women and Children’s Rights; Juvenile Justice; Labour Laws and Judgment Writing. She also Mentors young female Lawyers and Magistrates. Currently she is a Registered Arbitrator, Non Practicing Advocate and a Legal Consultant. she is also a Member of The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association, (CMJA) and Tanzania Women Judges Association (TAWJA).
Moh’d Abdalla Rashid
Board Member
Result-based management (RBM) versatile professional with over 6 years of progressive experience in implementation of Public health Programs with local and international NGOs in Tanzania. Expert knowledge in stakeholder’s engagement, Planning, budgeting, and program implementation and reporting. Have proven track record of working and Complying with large and small projects supported by USAID/PEPFAR, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Irish Aid, SIDA,UNFPA, UNICEF, Botnar Foundation, HDIF, Enable, Google AI, Hilton Foundation and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Holds Master of Humanitarian Action, Cooperation and Development and Bachelors degree of Arts in Sociology
Dr. Linda P. Salekwa (PhD)
Board Member
Biomedical research expert with seven years’ research experience on infectious diseases which affects humans and livestock. She is a lecturer and director of the Centre of Gender studies at Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Tanzania. She is a One planet-AWARD Laureate candidate and a fellow to the African Science Leadership program (ASLP).
Dr. Linda has expertise in diagnosis of viral and bacterial diseases of livestock, genome analysis, laboratory designs, development and optimization of diagnostic assays and preparation of standard operating procedures for laboratory analysis.
Beyond her professional roles, Dr. Linda leads the programs to motivate female and young scientist in leadership and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at the Institution and in Tanzania at large. She holds PhD in Disease diagnostics and Vaccinology, Master of Science in Life Sciences and Engineering (Health and Biomedical Sciences), and Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology and Laboratory Sciences.
Joseph Tumushabe
Board Member
Seasoned Technical Advisor with over 20 years of experience leading research projects in 15 African countries in fields of micro-saving operations, Resettlement Action Planning for medium and large scale projects, Poverty vulnerability and livelihoods Analysis, Agricultural Production Systems and Rural livelihoods systems assessment, Gender Analysis, Vulnerable children, child labour, Trans-boundary diseases state and community response initiatives, and Education planning and quality Improvement.
Joseph has extensive knowledge and experience in training, supervision and management of teams of operational research and project evaluation related functions. For over 15 year he taught Geography and Demography at Makerere University. He is also experienced in Up-scaling and upgrading evaluations to reflect OECD standards of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. He holds Masters of Arts in Population Studies, Bachelors of Arts in Geography and Certificate in Gender and Education Planning.
Mrs. Salome Grace Mjema
Board Member
Tanzanian Diaspora living and working in Finland since 1996. She has over 20 years of progressive experience in delivering consultancy services on Intercultural Communication and Development. She is a founder of Bestlife Africa Organisation, and Kitia Company, all based in Tampere, Finland. Her work involve offering consultancy and liaison services to Finnish companies doing business in Africa, and to local authorities that deal directly with immigrants coming from African countries. With fluency in Swahili, English, Finnish and French languages, Salome worked with Länsi-Suomen Tulkkauspalvelut (Western Finland Translation Services) as Swahili and French Interpreter. She also worked as lecturer and researcher with Swedish College of Development Studies, Tammisaari, and University of Tampere, Finland. She holds Master of Social Science in International Relations and Development Studies, Bachelor of Arts(BA) in Political Science and International Relations, and is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations at Department of Politics, Faculty of Management and Business, University of Tampere, Finland
Prof. John Jeckoniah
Board Member
Boniphace Dickson Mwanje
Board Member
Agriculture extension expert with over 10 years of progressive experience in management of agribusiness services with private sector in Tanzania. His expertise include agro-input sales, Pesticides Legislation, Handling and Use, management of chemical spraying program for irrigated and rain-fed areas, correct and safe use of agricultural chemicals, evaluation and interpretation of soil chemistry, biology, and physics to provide expert opinion on agricultural land use.
Boniphace is currently working as Tanzania’s Head of Sales at Epinav Agricultural Solutions. Previously he worked as Country Agrochemicals & Fertilizers Head& Regional Agronomist at Export Trading Group (ETG) Inputs Limited, as Nothern Zone Sales & Technical Manager at Syngenta Tanzania Ltd, and as Section Manager at Kilombero Sugar Company. He holds Masters of Science (MSc) in Crop Protection, bachelors of science (BSc) degree in Agronomy.
“We believe it is essential that each of our staff members applies these values not only internally but also externally when working with donors, partners and the communities we serve.”
Ms. Victoria Kundasai(former Munene)
Executive Director & Board secretary
Seasoned expert in women and youth economic empowerment and early childhood development (ECD) programing. She has extensive experience working with international NGOs including Pact and World Education Inc, supporting integration of economic strengthening initiatives among caregivers of vulnerable children and out of school girls. Her experience extended to supporting other economic strengthening initiatives in DRC, Madagascar, Lesotho, Eswatini and Nigeria. Prior to joining the NGO world, she worked in the conference hospitality industry, private sector, and freelance translation (French/English/Swahili). She is the co-owner of HealthyMe Company Limited, and is a serving as Board member of Pearl of People with Down Syndrome Foundation (PPDSF). Victoria holds a B.A degree in International Relations & French, Post Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship and Diploma in Business Studies. She is also trained on Project Management (InsideNGO), Tools of Sensitive Gender Planning and Implementation, and Science of Early Childhood Development.
Deodatus B. Shirima
Director- Finance and Administration
Accounting and finance professional with over 9 years of progressively experience specialized in finance and administration for programs funded by United State Agency for International Development (USAID) with a total budget of more than US Dollar 26 Million. His expertise include development and management of strong finance and accounting system, accurate budgeting, cash flow management, financial reporting and management of procurement system. He has participated in a different task force as an expert to assist in financial management and audit exercises. He also facilitates in-house finance training and capacity building to project technical staff and local partner organizations.
Deodatus is Certified Public Accountant CPA (T) registered by Tanzania’s National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA) with registration number GA 3830. He also holds Bachelor degree in Accounting & Finance
Ms. Epifania Minja
Director- Program Advancement
Gender, Youth and Economic Strengthening Expert with extensive technical regional experience in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia. For over 15 years, she has progressively led design and implementation of gender and livelihoods interventions for vulnerable communities. She have hands-on skills in programming for community economic development, savings groups, digital finance, financial inclusion, project proposal writing, and development and execution of monitoring, evaluation and learning plans. Holds Master of Science degree in Life sciences and engineering specializing in food and nutritional sciences, and a Bachelor’s degree in Home Economics and Human Nutrition. She also possess professional certificates in Project management, HIV and Gender programming, and Monitoring and Evaluation. She is member to African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) – Tanzania Chapter
Dr. Wences Chelangwa Msuya
Advisor- Training & Material Development
Health Promotion professional with over 30 years progressive experience in the design and implementation of community and school based preventive, care, disease control, nutrition, and behavior change and communication programs with INGOs in Tanzania. He pioneered creation of “Maisha Kwanza”, a valid approach for health education for HIV/AIDS programs and in publication of home based care guide implemented in the early launch of HIV/AIDS education program in Tanzania. He also served as a tutor and medical personnel with Government of Tanzania.
Dr. Msuya holds Post-graduate Diploma in Health Promotion, Advanced Diploma in Clinical Medicine (Assistant Medical Officer) and a Diploma in Clinical Medicine