SBL opens a new Scholarship window for young agriculture experts

In a bid to create agriculture resilience, Serengeti Breweries Ltd (SBL) has opened a new scholarship window to assist children from low-income families with their college education.

The agro-industry scholarship program is commonly referred to as the “Kilimo-Viwanda Scholarship Programme.” It offers scholarships each year to students studying agriculture-related courses at local colleges, covering the entire tuition fee for the duration of the student’s studies.

Through the new window, SBL has reiterated its commitment to provide employment opportunities to successful young farmers after they graduate.

Speaking during the launch of the scholarship program in Dar esSalaam, the SBL Managing Director, Mark Ocitti Ongom Ocitti said , “For years, Kilimo Viwanda has been amongst our pinnacles in creating resilience in the agricultural sector by helping young experts in technical education of crops such as barley, sorghum, and maize, which are used for beer making”.

Ocitti continued, “We are proud to announce that the program has been successful in helping over 200 students.” Some of them have joined us as interns in our brewery in Dar es Salaam and some will be joining us elsewhere in later days. We want to ensure our program has a long-lasting impact on these young farmers through the employment opportunities we offer.

Winnie, who joined as an intern at the Dar brewery attested to her experience. “It is a dream come true to join the SBL internship program, I have come a long way to get here, thanks to the Kilimo Viwanda scholarship. I won’t let anyone one, I will do my best every day to make this great company bigger”.

The scholarship supports young farmers through training by developing their agricultural practice on and off the field. SBL selects beneficiaries of the program based on their underprivileged backgrounds and those originating from their local raw materials societies.

Four colleges benefiting from this program are Kaole Wazazi College of Agriculture in Bagamoyo; Kilacha Agriculture Institute in Moshi; Igabiro Institute of Agriculture in Bukoba; and St. Maria Goretti Agriculture Training Institute in Iringa. We encourage applicants to visit these colleges to learn more about eligibility criteria and apply for the new scholarships.