ANZISHA PRIZE FINALIST FOR TANZANIA
Frederick Swai, Tanzania
The Dreamer Center
City: Mbeya
Age: 19
Industry: IT Services
Quote:
“I got the idea for the Center when I was seventeen. It has been a
dream come true to see it finally here. But this is just the beginning.”
During secondary school Frederick Swai often noticed his neighbors’
frustration when they were forced to make a 2km trek to print or copy
documents. They complained not only about the inconvenient
journey, but also about the printing center’s limited resources.
Frederick recognized an opportunity to provide a more convenient,
superior quality offering, and he began saving his pocket money to fund his
entrepreneurial idea.
With his life savings and the support of his parents, Frederick soon founded
The Dreamer Center, an
organization that offers computing and office services such as printing and
book binding. But this is not an
ordinary stationery store – at The Dreamer Center,
Frederick and his team also offer a variety of educational
enrichment programs to local youth, including computing
skills courses and the opportunity to play educational
computer games during non-school hours.
Frederick and his two full-time employees have a strong
recurring customer base, and they are now planning the
new ventures that can merge their IT experience and their
passion for education. In the year ahead, Frederick seeks to
begin publishing a magazine with local Tanzanian youth
writers – and he will begin attending university with the
profits he has earned from The Dreamer Center.
End