Dr Donath R. Olomi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development (www.imedtz.org) which is pioneering innovative entrepreneurship and management training, research and consulting. His main area of expertise is entrepreneurship and small business development. He was the founding director of the University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre (www.udec.udsm.ac.tz) in 1999 and left this position in 2009 with the centre being a leader in the East African region. Dr Olomi studied in Tanzania, Canada and Sweden and holds a B.Com, MBA and a PhD in business and entrepreneurship. Prior to joining the University of Dar es Salaam in 1989, he worked as an Assistant Accountant and then an Export Officer.
Dr Olomi has founded Whitemark Hotel (www.whitemarkhotels.com) and more recently IMED. He chaired the Boards of Fanikiwa Microfinance Company, Community Re-Investment Grant Trust (CRGT) and sits on the Boards of Banana Investments Ltd (www.banana.co.tz), Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives (www.csdi-tz.org), Tanzania Gatsby Trust, Property and Business Formalization Programme (www.mkurabita.go.tz) and Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility (SELF). He has also worked widely in the area of entrepreneurship and private sector development in Tanzania, Botswana, DRC, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. His clients have included SMEs, corporate, banks, NGOs, business associations, governments, multilateral organizations, etc. He has also been working as an Associate Consultant with Ernst and Young. Dr Olomi has published widely including co-authoring two books. His theoretical contribution has included developing a framework explaining how some economic necessity business founders evolve into serious growth oriented333