Africa Philanthropy Network had a conversation with Jessica Mshama, the Founder of the Assumpta Digital School, and she is serving as an ambassador of the East African Community (EAC). The conversation was focusing on the work Jessica is doing in driving impact and change within her space. The conversation forms part of the series that APN is hosting with key African Youth across the continent who are harnessing their relevance in championing productive change across the continent. The conversation flowed as follows;
Question: Tell us a little bit more about yourself and what makes you get engaged in the work that you do?
Jessica’s Response: First and foremost, it’s through my drive and personal mission that I have been able to drive the impact I have driven. This is because I believe every person is called for something great, and it all depends on how you program yourself. At a tender age of 13 years old, I realized my drive and passion for entrepreneurship. Growing up in a community that was always resilient and dedicated it helped me position my focus and align my goals.
While I was in University doing my studies, I did not relent and rely completely on making a life and championing my relevance from my academic qualification. I committed myself to championing something on the side even as I pursued my studies in business administration, finance, and later on, economic diplomacy. I believe if we do not push ourselves to have creative minds, we become complacent as a people, and in the process, fail to realize our fullest potential. I grew up listening to testimonies of women who had so much going on, but when they reached a certain age, they were forced into marriage and completely gave up on their ambitions. It is such testimonies that gave me a sense of relevance and determination to place myself in a perfectly fit position to change the narrative.
It is through such lessons that I opened an NGO called Nakuwa na Taifa (I grow with my Nation), mainly to empower the youth economically, but also to be aware of the potential that they carry, because you know your talent and your potential could be a solution to another person’s challenges. But how many of these people understand that? How many of the people that we live with in our community understand that their talents, their potentials, are a solution to another person? I envision a community where its people realize its fullest potential and relevance, and I hope to be at the center of driving this agenda.
Question: How has your influence and position of leadership impacted you, and what do you enjoy about it?
Jessica’s Response: Having the ability to reach the unreached me is what I enjoy the most. Getting a platform to be heard, sharing some comments, but also creating new networks that together can create possibilities and can create new initiatives that can be in a chain or on a rotational basis that everyone gets to be empowered in it. So, for me to be in a place where I can express my values and principles on how I envision development and change is the greatest sense of fulfillment. To champion an agenda that supports the development of our communities gives me a sense of worth and belonging. So, it is the sacrifices that I give every day of my life that count to me as a gain, and what I enjoy the most is fulfilling that in my days of my youth, but I also pray that I continue to fulfill that in my older days.
Question: In your quest to drive change, what do you think is a more impactful practice, it is the profit or the non-profit, or maybe a blend of both practices?
Jessica’s Response: Thank you so much again. I think what I am trying to say is that I will take an example of what I do personally. I have an NGO, which is a non-profit organization, in which we have a vision and we have goals that we have to reach. However, through that, we see the needs of the community because you should analyze the environment you are in. We are in an environment where people need support, but then again, people need to be taught how they can stand on their own. So, this is where the profitable practice comes in, but in a manner where we don’t condemn a person’s ability. You know, I will take an example, I run a school called Asumpta Digital School, I am the director there, and founded it last year. But clearly, we provide the best quality education; it’s the number one digital school in Tanzania. However, when it comes to the profit gains, it is not to the extent of undermining the possibility of a normal citizen acquiring that education. I will tell you why, because you look at international schools, they have better schools, I mean they are in a better way to make high profit gains, but they have all it takes to assure that the kids are getting rthe ight education. But at the end, it’s only for a certain group of people who are getting certain amounts of salary. But, this school that I run today, we say that our school fee is only One Million TZS, which is equivalent to USD 450. This is because we know the capability of people around us; they can’t afford high-fee-paying schools. But they need the best quality education for their kids, so we introduced a different mechanism for a person who will enable them to pay school fees in installments. As much as we need profit gains at the end, we should consider how we help our communities. So, if we can have a hybrid of all that, because at the end of the day, people need to eat and drink, and it is not for free. It could be a way of improving the activities in the community.
Question: Are the African Philanthropy practices evolving in the continent as well as in Tanzania? (I am wondering, what is your opinion then, do you see such practices evolving on the continent? And in Tanzania as well, and if the answer is yes, how? If the answer is no, then why do you think we don’t see changes as much as we would wish to see? And this is not condemning anyone, it is with your own views.)
Jessica’s Response: Let me start with the most crucial thing, which is the leadership style that we have, and I am not condemning any leadership or any member that represents a certain community. But maturity, as we see in the community, when the leaders want to take over, they come up with different initiatives, they sweet-talk the people, and you know, they come up with different ways of giving hope that once they are in power, they will deliver whatever they are saying. And I am not talking about only high presidency level, you can have even the community-based level, the local government, and so on, but they don’t really do what is mostly required to be done in the community. And to me, I don’t think it is practiced; it is not practiced at all because once a leader of a community doesn’t adhere to what should be done in a way that is quite acceptable for everybody, how about the people you are leading? They will never think about the community agendas, and they will never think about someone else. People will only be thinking of their own stomachs and feeding their own families. But it should be inclusive; we should create more organizations and more initiatives that are really aimed at helping people make ends meet. You know, in developing countries in Africa, there is still a very high gap between the haves and have-nots. There is a need for us as a region to start thinking of long-term solutions and not short-term strategies for development. The rest of the world is doing quite well, you know. The developed countries have an agenda that a leader can not intimidate or go against because it is a strong framework that is made for the country and for the people, and not for a leader’s intention or short-term vision of five years or ten years. So generally, what I can say is we still need to work more, and that’s why I do what I do, so I can raise a generation that thinks of the next generation.
Question five: How do you address power structures that perpetuate in your work? (How do you address the power structures that perpetuate inequalities and exclusion, because those are the groups you are dealing with. So how do you manage that? How do you navigate that?
Response from Jessica: I was recently invited to an event that was organized by the Ministry of Gender and Development in my capacity as a young female founder, to speak on issues around women’s voices. When I got the invite, I enquired about the possibility of having a representation of youth voices. The organizers then established that on a particular day during the event, there shall be a segment dedicated to youth and inquired if I could support in recommending youth voices that can play a role. This is how we help curb the power dynamics and structures that hinder the inclusion of marginalized groups. We need to be deliberate in our approach if we envision a more inclusive society. Every time an opportunity is presented to me, I do not only think of occupying that space myself, but also ensure that I champion for the inclusion of key voices that do have a seat at the table. It is by being deliberate and determined that we can address the power dynamics that perpetuate in our systems.
Question: How best can we encourage such innovation and participation of youth, women, children, and people with disability?
Jessica’s Response: I would say it in three ways, which are;
Mindset-Change: The first thing is mindset change, ensuring that we help marginalized groups have different perceptions on key issues that are affecting them, which helps them to realize their place in society. Innovation and creativity can only be realized when we create programs that help marginalized groups realize their potential, and in the process help raise their voices and action in driving transformation.
Education: It is a very sensitive issue, and the question to ask is whether the education that is provided in our communities is relevant to what we are trying to advance as a continent? You know we should always remember that what we feed a person from an early age is what the person will grow up to become. So, I would advise that we allocate more power, more unique ways of sensitizing on quality education for all.
Digital transformation – so we need digital transformation in all spheres of life and activities that we foresee to be done. So, in those three areas, I think we stand a chance to create a better community.
Question: What sustainability strategies are you exploring to ensure resilience? (What are some of the strategies you are exploring as an institution, if it is a digital school, JC sisters’ company. What are some of the sustainability strategies or practices you are exploring to ensure that your vision is sustained and ensure that your business and other non-profit initiatives are resilient to shocks, and these perceptions that you are not rooted, you are not bringing any impact? What are the strategies you are using?
Jessica’s Response: It is really challenging to be honest, most of my businesses have not been generating profit as they should, and I have actually closed one of the businesses. To establish and sustain a business, there are times were you accrue a loan at an interest rate of 21%, and before you know it, you are literally working for the bank. Unlike other countries where the environment to do business is conducive, it proves to be a challenge on the African continent to sustain and grow a business with the laws and policies that have been put in place. But what is important is to keep being innovative and ensuring that we sustain our vision. The other strategy that I use to sustain my not-for-profit organization is through connections and networking. The people I come in contact with people through seminars, conferences, and events, I ensure that I build a strong network of colleagues who help me champion my agenda. Sustainability is a serious aspect of safeguarding the vision of any entity.
Question: Can you leave us with an inspirational quote?
Jessica’s Response: “Success has no age, has no limit, does not race, you can be who you want to be as long as you are determined to be.”