On Friday, February 14, 2025, the Ifakara Innovation Hub (IIH) hosted a transformative Youth Empowerment Session to equip young people in the Ifakara region with essential digital skills to enhance their economic growth. 

This initiative brought together eager local youth, demonstrating how digital tools can open doors to business opportunities, promote self-reliance, and bridge the digital divide.

Addressing barriers to digital access
The IIH team emphasized the importance of such initiatives, stating, that rural communities like Ifakara often face significant barriers to digital access and literacy, limiting their economic potential. According to the World Bank, gaps in digital access significantly impact underserved communities particularly in rural areas, resulting in missed entrepreneurial opportunities.

The session sought to address this gap, encouraging participants to see digital platforms not just as social spaces, but as powerful tools for building sustainable businesses.

Hands-on learning, practical demonstrations
Through hands-on demonstrations, participants explored key digital tools for business growth. Platforms like Pinterest, YouTube, and WhatsApp Business were highlighted for their potential to help entrepreneurs establish and scale their ventures.

One of the session’s practical activities, led by a facilitator from Kazi Start Funding, involved designing decorative bottles using Pinterest for creative inspiration. This exercise illustrated how digital resources can transform everyday materials into business ideas.

Shifting mindsets towards digital empowerment
Beyond technical skills, the session had a profound impact on participants’ perspectives. “This session opened my eyes to how digital tools can be more than just entertainment—they can be a pathway to independence,” shared one of the attendees. Through guided discussions and interactive learning, participants gained insights into how digital tools can help them identify opportunities, market their products, and reach a broader audience.

“While participants may not continue making bottle designs, the session achieved its primary goal: to inspire a new mindset. It underscored the vast possibilities that digital literacy offers, empowering youth to leverage digital tools for economic growth and future entrepreneurial endeavors. This directly aligns with World Bank findings, which emphasize digital literacy as critical for reducing youth unemployment and driving inclusive economic development,” noted the IIH team.

The Hub’s commitment to a digitally connected future
The Ifakara Innovation Hub remains committed to bridging the digital divide through initiatives that empower rural youth. By nurturing digital skills and fostering innovation, the hub aims to equip young entrepreneurs with the tools they need to explore new opportunities and build a digitally connected future.

About Ifakara Innovation Hub
Ifakara Innovation Hub is a community of inspiration, ideation, and collaboration for solution development. This dynamic space aims to expand the innovation ecosystem to rural Tanzania, looking realistically at the trade-offs between knowledge exploration, i.e., research and exploitation of technological innovation (development and testing products) and establishing innovations compatible with the existing social, economic, and administrative systems.

The Hub’s focus is to contribute to the development of entrepreneurship and a sustainable ecosystem in Tanzania by empowering youth innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions to pressing issues and transform these ideas into marketable products. The Hub foresees becoming a leading initiative that empowers entrepreneurs and innovators to develop solutions to societal challenges, create growth and skilled jobs.