It started with a classroom and a question.
In 2019, a group of young graduates and teachers in Dar es Salaam kept meeting the same frustration: bright students were leaving school with certificates but few practical, future-ready skills — while farms a few hours away struggled with problems technology could help solve.
So they started small. A weekend coding club here, a soil-testing demonstration on a cooperative farm there. Word spread. Young people turned up hungry to learn, and farmers asked for more. What began as volunteer weekends became FODA Foundation — a registered Tanzanian non-profit connecting digital innovation with climate resilience.
Today we work across six regions, but the belief at our core hasn't changed: the next generation isn't waiting to be saved — it's waiting to be trusted.
What we are here to do
To equip young Tanzanians with the digital skills, green technology and opportunities they need to build sustainable livelihoods and resilient communities.
The future we are working toward
A Tanzania where every young person can turn innovation into opportunity — and where growth and care for the environment go hand in hand.
Five values we won't compromise on
Dignity first
We treat young people and communities as partners and leaders, never as problems to be fixed.
Learning by doing
Real tools, real farms, real code. Skills stick when they are practised, not just taught.
Rooted locally
We build with schools, cooperatives and local leaders so our work belongs to the community.
Care for the earth
Every programme asks how it leaves the land, water and climate better than it found them.
Open & accountable
We measure honestly, share what works and what doesn't, and account for every shilling.
Inclusion by design
Girls, young women and youth with disabilities are at the centre of how we plan and deliver.
Co-created, practical and built to last
We don't arrive with ready-made answers. Every programme follows the same disciplined path — so impact outlives the project.
Understand the need
We sit with young people, farmers and local leaders to define the real problem together.
Build the solution with them
Participants shape the curriculum, the tools and how success is measured.
Hands-on, mentored learning
Practical training paired with the kits, seed and connections to put it to use.
Hand over and follow through
Local champions take ownership; we track outcomes and keep supporting the network.
From weekend clubs to a national movement
The first clubs
FODA begins as volunteer-run coding and farming clubs in Dar es Salaam.
Officially registered
Registered under Tanzania's NGO Act, 2002, and our first full-time team is hired.
Scaling up
Digital agriculture and solar programmes expand to Morogoro, Dodoma and Pwani.
Six regions
Over 12,000 young people reached, with new innovation hubs opening in the Lake Zone.
A team that looks like the communities we serve
Most of our staff and volunteers are themselves young Tanzanians — many were once part of the very programmes they now lead.
Educator and technologist who started FODA's first weekend club.
Leads our digital agriculture work with smallholder cooperatives.
Designs our STEM, robotics and digital-literacy curricula.
Engineer guiding our solar and community-adaptation projects.
Names and portraits are placeholders for layout — replace with your team's details.
Accountable to the communities and supporters who make our work possible
FODA Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees and guided by clear safeguarding, finance and child-protection policies. We publish an annual report and audited accounts every year.
- Registered under the NGO Act, 2002 (Reg. No. 00NGO/R/0000)
- Independent Board of Trustees providing oversight
- Annual independent financial audit
- Safeguarding & child-protection policy for all staff and volunteers
- Clear complaints and whistle-blowing channels
Want to see the work up close?
Visit a programme, meet the young people leading it, and see what your support makes possible.