Welcome to the Business Development Gateway!
Your Gateway to Business Success!
Fanikiwa Ki-Biashara!
The Government of Tanzania initiated the Business Development Gateway (BDG) program which is implemented under auspices of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF). The current 2 year BDG program started in August 2008 and will be completed in July 2010.
The objective of the Business Development Gateway (BDG) is to strengthen the entrepreneurial culture in Tanzania by creating a critical mass of successful entrepreneurs. One of the unique features of BDG is that it focuses not only on registered enterprises but also on informal, not-registered companies. Another special element of BDG is that it covers all Tanzania. Every eligible entrepreneur can benefit, whether he/she operates in Dar es Salaam, Rukwa, Lindi or Zanzibar.
The BDG is a Business Skills Development Program realized in all 26 Regions of Tanzania and implemented together with local partners in all regions. Countrywide service delivery is made possible through close cooperation with a network of local key partners, specialized in business training, consulting, SME banking, enterprise development and business networking. These key partners include: Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO), National Microfinance Bank (NMB), Tanzania Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (TCCIA), East African Speakers Bureau (ESB), ZAIN on the Tanzania mainland, and the Zanzibar Institute of Financial Administration (ZIFA), Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (ZNCCIA), People’s Bank of Zanzibar (PBZ) and ZAIN in Zanzibar.
One business skills development cycle lasts eight months. Two program cycles are planned during the course of the entire program duration. The competitive program design has proven its value as each business education round yields the best performing enterprising individuals and motivates them to perform the next round even better. The BDG consist of three components, the Business Plan Competition (BPC), the Business Diagnosis Program (BDP). After Care Services (ACS) are provided to BDG graduates through the BDG Business Clubs, established and managed by the BDG graduates themselves.
During the course of an eight month program cycle, a series of business training sessions are provided to inspire, instruct and guide, but it are the participants themselves who are preparing their own Business Plans and perform their own Business Diagnosis. Based on their performance they are judged by independent judges and only the best performing persons are allowed to join the next round.
The BDG stands for a strong competitive skills developing system, consisting of a series of training, mentoring, judging and awarding. Each phase yields the most entrepreneurial participants who are awarded with business grants. Currently there are 3.900 start-up and existing entrepreneurs participating with the BPC, BDP and/or ACS components of the BDG program. They attended a series of training and mentoring sessions to sharpen their Business acumen and improve their enterprise performance in a competitive training environment.
Our programs
BDG provides a one-stop-window for access to training and counseling, new business contacts, and seed capital for smart business ideas. Grant Awards are available for entrepreneurs who successfully participate in one of the programs of the Gateway:
If you are interested in participating, click one of the buttons on the right to find out more...
BDG is an initiative of the Government of Tanzania. The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation is the Contracting Authority and the programme is implemented by ICON Institute, Germany, PKF East Africa and EDC Tanzania. (Click here for more information on this consortium)
