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Tanzanian Entrepreneurship with Young African Leadership Initiative, Mandela Washington Fellow John Praygod Kimaro

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John Praygod Kimaro founded Seaweed Innovate in Zanzibar. He works with coastal women to harvest and export seamoss.
Seaweed Innovate Instagram

The Young African Leadership Initiative is a program started under the Obama Administration. Young people from across Africa apply for a Mandela Fellowship. Some are invited to participate in the Young African Leadership Initiative. Clark Atlanta University’s program focuses on entrepreneurship. We’ll speak with some YALI participants during the coming weeks. This week we’re talking with John Praygod Kimaro from Zanzibar, a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa.

Marine Biologist Kimaro was motivated by seeing others who know the value of seaweed come to his community to make money from it. He founded the company Seaweed Innovate. He speaks about sustainability and seaweed farming, saying crops like seaweed can help local people adapt to climate change.

It was essential to Kimaro that they work with the women of Zanzibar. They learn how to grow and harvest the “sea moss.” Kimaro’s company then processes their harvest for export to other countries.

Kimaro shares that Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, is known for its beautiful beaches and welcoming people.

For more information about John Praygood Kimaro
For more information about Seaweed Innovate
For more information about the YALI Program