Building Bankable Businesses: Integrated Support for Farmers in Unguja and Pemba

“We received training from FAO on how to improve our productivity in both seaweed and sea cucumbers. Over the last several days we have been learning how to do farming as a business by calculating expenses, income and doing budgeting. I will leave here knowing how to conduct business in a way that will increase my profits,” said Naima Mjaka, a seaweed farmer and participant.

Her experience reflects the integrated support being delivered through the Zanzibar Joint Programme (ZJP): Integrated Innovations for Sustainable Development, funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy through the Tanzania SDG Acceleration Fund. Under the ZJP’s food systems pillar, the UN in Tanzania is working with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and local partners to strengthen priority value chains, linking productivity improvements with skills, formalisation and market readiness.

In Wete, Pemba, 28 farmers representing variety of farmer’s groups engaged in seaweed and banana production recently completed a six-day Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training delivered by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The training builds on earlier technical support from the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) focused on improving production and quality, demonstrating how the ZJP coordinates complementary expertise to address constraints across different stages of the value chain.

“We help them to understand how to move from farming as a hobby into a business. This is an intensive six-day training, followed up by support on business formalization,” said Glory Blasio, ZJP Coordinator, ILO. “We prefer for them to formalize as groups and work towards building cooperatives because that’s the sustainable way to start and improve and grow their businesses.”

Participants were drawn from different farmer groups and organised for learning based on literacy levels, helping ensure the training remained practical and inclusive. The approach supports farmers who are engaged in production only, processing only, or both, reflecting how real value chains operate at community level.

A similar SIYB training was recently conducted in Unguja as part of the ZJP’s food systems work, strengthening participants’ capacity in costing and pricing, financial planning, branding, value addition and market access, while also promoting formalisation through a simplified “formalise your business” guide to help informal enterprises transition towards formality. 

In Pemba, the training also involved the Vocational Training Authority (VTA) and will be followed by a training of trainers for VTA staff. Over time, the SIYB methodology will be integrated into VTA courses, equipping graduates with practical entrepreneurship skills to start viable businesses where wage employment is not immediately available.

By the end of the training, participants had developed realistic, bankable business plans with clear action steps. In early January, the programme will follow up to support implementation, including group registration and other formalisation steps. Later, the UN and the Government will introduce a tailored financing pathway under the ZJP and the Joint SDG Fund Transforming Seaweed Farming through Integrated Financial Solutions Joint Programme to help viable farmer-led enterprises access appropriate financial services to scale and reach markets.