A bilateral collaboration initiative between Tanzania and Finland’s ICT development project has subsequently given birth to what is dubbed the ‘Innovation Space’ at the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology.

Known as the Information Society and ICT Sector Development Project or TANZICT, the venture is spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology (MCST) in Tanzania and Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

“The project officially began on August 1 2011 and its overall objective is a strengthened Tanzanian information society with enhanced capacities to contribute to the achievement of the Government’s socio-economic development goals,” says Jukka Siltanen, associate expert at TANZICT.

Siltanen explains that the project is organised with three goals, namely to support the revision of Tanzania’s national ICT policy and begin its implementation; to strengthen the institutional capacity of MCST; and to establish the Tanzania innovation program.

“It’s truly a bilateral project and so it is run together by staff members of MCST, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and a Finnish technical assistance team of two people,” explains Siltanen.

The partnership has given rise to the Innovation Space, which is essentially aimed at being a focal point for the tech community to meet, collaborate and work together.

“We hope that it helps them to realise that sharing knowledge, networking and using their skills in combination with others is a way to come up with new solutions and innovations,” says Siltanen.

The Innovation Space has already been influential in organising training sessions as well as using a combination of social media and online communications to become a valuable resource for Tanzania’s techies. Over a nine month period beginning in November last year, the space has hosted more than 60 events, which bodes well for the future of the project.

Siltanen further notes that they have also seen interest emerge from a host of international companies and organisations looking to plug into the local ICT sector.

The space, which used to be a library, has been divided into two sections, with one earmarked as a relatively informal and open space for the users at large, and a second area serving as a more formal space aimed at the pre-incubation stage. Currently, the Innovation Space has 460 register users with between 20 and 30 users making use of the space on a daily basis.

“At the end of July, a four-seat Ubuntu Linux workstation, aimed at developers, was installed in the space to enable those without their own laptops to use the space effectively. The workstation is based on free and open-source tools to increase awareness of their potential in the use of ICT,” says Siltanen.

Membership of the Innovation Space is easy to come by and involves a simple registration process, with new members expected to have an interest in ICT, entrepreneurship and innovation; a willingness to work on their ideas, projects and skills; and enthusiasm to contribute to the local developer community.

The TANZICT project also has a pre-incubation and business incubation dimension. The aim of pre-incubation space is to help university graduates, amongst others, develop technology-orientated ideas into relevant and sustainable businesses. There are strict entrance criteria to be met in order to be selected for the program, which takes place over a three- to six-month period and demands that individuals put in at least 25 hours of work a week. There are currently five projects on the go following the first call for pre-incubation in March. The next round of applications opens in September with the program beginning in October.

Tanzania has a rapidly growing tech community with internet penetration up to 11%, according to the latest report issued by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). The report indicates that access to the internet has tripled since 2005, when only 1.6 millions users had internet access, whereas in 2012, 4.8 million Tanzanians are now making use of the internet.

While Siltanen admits that the project has faced some challenges, he points out that the issues surrounding the sustainability of the project and local ownership seem to be diminishing.

“The place is packed these days. People leave it in a nice condition and many volunteer their skills for training session to other community members,” she says.

It’s just this sort of attitude that will propel the Tanzanian tech community forward to greater heights in entrepreneurship and innovation.