By the words of this wisest of men, it has taken me a long time to discover what I truly love to do.
Somehow, a postdoctoral research/academic path in chemistry zig zaged to science/health policy, then almost ten years of international development work – first in public health and for the past year, back to science and technology, plus something new, entrepreneurship. Whether it is simply the randomness of life or something else, this path has brought me to where I am now: starting a nonprofit to help young people advance their lives through entrepreneurship.
With this step comes the inauguration of anxiety – enough to keep me awake some nights. Certain expected questions have swirled around my head during these sleepless nights. What do I know about starting a nonprofit? Will I be able to mobilize enough resources to turn ideas into reality? And of course, the all-important “putting bread on the table” question: wouldn’t it be easier to get a job with a steady paycheck?
As I’m writing, I do not have answers for the questions above. But slowly one thing has become clearer: I like this anxiety – it is a good kind of anxiety. While I still wrestle with the same questions, the word anxiety has slowly traded place with another: passion. This is what pushed me to take this step with iVotech.
Passion aside, a universal rule of thumb for success is choosing quality people. In this regard, I believe I have done well. More than a source for ideas, I have a thoughtful partner who is an extraordinary listener. In ten plus years of professional work in government and with various international NGOs, I can count on one hand the number of people whom I’d consider good listeners.
I’ll end this post with a short update on where we are with iVotech. We have drafted our business model and continue to get feedback from a diverse groups of people in Tanzania, including a local NGO. From the U.S. side, we've also received invaluable feedback from people deep-rooted in the private sector business community. We’ll take our ideas on the road to Dar es Salaam in two weeks to engage a number of potential partners and donors, both in the public and private sector.
We look forward to sharing stories and inspiration with you in the months to come./. Cheers, Dat
