Linus: Developing Digital Skills Made My Business Boom

Linus was born in the Tanga region and completed his primary education in 2000. In the whole ward there was only one secondary school, and at that time only two students were to ever chosen to move on to the secondary school level. Being a hard-working student but an average performer, Linus did not stand a chance.

Not willing to accept that his educational opportunities were coming to an end, Linus started searching for alternative ways to expand his skills and create his own opportunities for success. Linus discovered the technical college programs and enrolled in carpentry, graduating in 2002.

Unfortunately for Linus, he found that his business was limited to a very small pool of local patrons. He didn’t know how to attract customers from larger, wider areas, or how to solve other daunting challenges his new business was facing. It was a difficult time, with nothing going according to plan. Then, Linus heard about DOT’s program facilitated by local #DOTYouth that worked with young leaders in the community to build upon their entrepreneurial skills and help them establish a basic understanding of information communication technology.

I decided to attend the training held at Bunju A – Dar es Salaam. I really liked this training and learned a lot. I have made a lot of changes that have positively affected my attitude and the sucess of my business

Linus says that through this DOT training he was able to discover more about himself as both an individual and a business owner,  and now knows how to turn what he is passionate about into a successful social enterprise. He’s learned how to attract a larger range of customers, how to properly serve them, and how to market his business.

Because of DOT Tanzania, I have the knowledge and skills that will help me to have sustainable development and improve my livelihood. I learned to use social networks to advertise my business and to gain feedback about my business from my clients, and now I have more customers than ever before

Linus is proud to be putting his new knowledge to use, utilizing his social networks to increase income and to stay updated on new business practices and trends.

Most youth in Tanzania use social media for just pleasure. My goal is to use it to make my business stronger. DOT training has given me more light in my business and my life!