Hourglass Tanzania last June\’s supported Dar Fashion Festival using
transformative technology and community powered support to enable
business in the Apparel & Garment Sector, to IMPACT Africa.
Dar Fashion Festival (DFF) kicked off with a series of events on
Sunday the 19th June staring with WEBS (Women’s Empowered Business
Summit) which was held at the 5-Star Mbezi hall. Present were notable
key persons including, Mama Khadisha Simba Kujo Bekor from Hourglass.
The climax of the month long activity of Empowering Women,
was The PREMIER FASHION & SHOPPING FESTIVAL which proved to be a
runaway success.
The planned family fun day out, opened at 9am at The GREEN
Kenyatta Avennue, Oysterbay, Dar es salaam, completely re-generated
with the support of Hourglass, Shamba-Landsacpes in collaboration with
the office of the Municipal Chairman – Mr. Peter Moshi.
Hourglass Tanzania, threw its support behind the event in an effort to
demonstrate how to use transformative technology (including, mobile,
smartcards, internet) to create access and enable small & medium size
businesses to drive growth & address some of the major social,
economic, environmental challenges facing the African Continent today.
“DFF promises to bolster the efforts of Women owned businesses in the
apparel and garment Industry, a significant contributor of GDP in
Tanzania and a sector that rides mainly on Agric given that most of
our fabrics come from cotton and other. It’s no rocket science; we are
talking about Women, Agric & The Environment. That’s nature, that’s an
Economy, and that’s why we are serious about DFF. The founders also
touched a nerve that we are 100% committed to, and that GOing GREEN,”
Mr Kujo Bekor, Head of New Business (Hourglass –Africa), told a
selected group of journalists in Dar es Salaam.
He said, the event, billed by the organisers as the turning point to
transform Dar es Salaam into a regional centre for Best Fashion,
Shopping, Lifestyle, Travel & Entertainment promises great things for
the Next Generation.
“Again, we are all about the Next Generation – that is, establishing a
solid foundation for a sustainable future and that’s why we are
providing to DFF with robust technology, web-services, network
connectivity, security and community powered support to ACCESS
mass-markets with the power of mobile, new-Media or Internet Social
Mediums. For DFF and as a service, we combine this with all available
traditional media to connect & communicate with audiences or potential
paying customers,” Mr Kujo said.
Kujo Bekor stressed that, DFF has created a buzz and women including
his own staff feel empowered already. He expressed the excitement to
see African women come together in such a bold attempt to stimulate
Networking, Knowledge Sharing & Commercial activity (day-to-day sales)
that contributes to household incomes in Tanzania.
“Coming together will allow for growth through collaboration &
competition, and by competition, I mean, being innovative, doing
something new or fresh, adopting cashless payment systems for example,
using more of mobile technology etc. etc, to connect with what is now
a networked economy. These things are necessary for growth,” Kujo
Bekor said calling for city residents to turn up in big numbers for
the shopping event.
Asked about DFF plans for Web/Mobile/Internet Sales platform to create
speedy access to information, enquires and purchases for the 52
businesses that would be exhibiting at The GREEN, Mr. Bekor pointed
out that they have been very excited about the growth in the numbers
of people who continue to sign-up for alerts & sales info request via
Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.
“That is the future. The DFF Website which is to be launched in
30-days would focus mainly on the “causes” and principles of the
foundation (Network, Learn & Sell). So, it would primarily serve as an
Information Portal to exchange knowledge (with video content also) and
of cause, a fully secure e-commerce transaction platform with rich
content for sale. We are serious about the next generation and we have
been around for 10yrs to know that, a customer (that is, anyone in our
community), prefers direct access, convenience and support. These
things we provide over bandwidth for any device, anytime, anywhere and
for anything to IMPACT Africa.
Dar Fashion Festival (DFF), according to one of its founders,
Christina Lasway, is providing women with a platform, tools, resources
and rich human capital to move from a form of subsistence to stability
and self-sufficiency, as well as contributing to the nation building
efforts. “Through our three pillars: Network, Learn and Sell, DFF aims
to fulfil the dreams and goals of one Tanzanian woman at a time,” she
says, also urging city residents to turn up in big numbers for the
festivals.
As a jovial footnote, Kujo Bekor said, “the way I see it, It’s about
women, mother nature, beautiful things, Tanzania & Africa. Unless you
don\’t like any of the above, you would GET INVOLVED & GO GREEN to
IMPACT Africa.
Connect: http://www.hourglass-group.com,