From Gatsby to Growth

For 25 years Tanzania Gatsby Trust (TGT) has been a catalyst for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), emerging entrepreneurs, and farming cooperatives. We have nurtured the development of various entities, many of whom today are thriving on their own. In the process we have learnt a lot about how organizations work, and how to take a concept and watch it grow into a full-blown operation that can run independently.  Though the process has not been without its challenges, it has certainly been rewarding; we have watched an entire ecosystem blossom around us, and we are proud to have been part of its development.

As the world around us has changed, so too have we at TGT. We have seen a lot, and in the same way that we have seen entities grow, we have also watched some as they crumbled. Where there have been failures, we have persevered or closed shop, leaving with incredibly valuable lessons that have helped us to avoid the same mistakes elsewhere. Where there have been successes, we have celebrated these and identified ways to replicate them in other areas. Throughout the journey we have worked with a model that believed in the nurturing and incubating of enterprises, to equip them with the skills and tools that they need to move forward.

At TGT we have seen first hand how powerful it can be when an organization or business is mentored while it gains its footing; we too started locally under the wing of a larger entity – the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. This mutually beneficial relationship helped us to gain a strong position within our industry, and we were able to access valuable insights and support while we were growing. Today, 25 years later, we recognize that we have had immeasurable opportunity and guidance to enable us to develop into a robust, sustainable, and impactful organization.

Over the course of our evolution we have had the good fortune of some incredible support, financial and otherwise.  We started with core funding from Gatsby UK and as others started to see the results we produced, we were able to partner with many others.  We thank key partners such as Ford Foundation, Comic Relief, McKnight Foundation, Cherie Blair Foundation, DANIDA, and many others for all our previous and current collaborations, and we look forward to stronger and more impactful work in the future.

As we work through our current Strategic Plan, and start to prepare for our next one, we have taken the time to examine our brand and to reflect on how it relates to our objectives.  We reflected on what our future looks like, what we want to achieve, and how we intend to reach our goals.

A recurring theme throughout the process was one that indicated that we are ready to fully branch out on our own – to solidify our presence as an independent organization with an even stronger Tanzanian identity. It is for this reason that we have opted to use this moment to change our organization’s name from Tanzania Gatsby Trust to Tanzania Growth Trust. Our acronym, TGT (by which many of you have always called us) remains the same, because at our core we remain the same. At this point in our journey we know that the word ‘growth’ is what best captures the work we want to continue to do; to grow as an organization, but also to help other organizations and businesses to grow.

As we leave the Gatsby family name we retain and shall continue to champion what has always been at the heart of our work together; we know we will continue to operate with deep rooting in the core values that we have always shared, and a firm commitment to growth and development.