This Week in Tanzanian Tech [Jan 21-27]
Founders Tanzania hosts meetup, NMB Bank partners with ICT ministry, plus 8 other important headlines.
The Ministry of Information, Communication, and Information Technology (MICIT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NMB Bank. They aim to increase financial inclusion and e-commerce security through citizen identity systems, data exchange platforms, and fintech innovation hubs.
Founders Tanzania (FTz), a grassroots community of existing and aspiring entrepreneurs, held its first in-person meeting. About 30 people came together to discuss the evolution of Tanzania’s startup ecosystem, which attracted over TZS 63.7 billion in 2023. Panelists included Edwin Bruno from Smart Africa Group (SAG), Mercy Kitomari from Nelwa's Gelato (ice cream) and TRI (electric 3-wheelers), Princely Glorious from OnaStories, and Martin Nielsen from Mdundo.com.
SerengetiBytes (a marketing and communications agency) named five tech entrepreneurs among the 100 Tanzanian changemakers for 2023. These are AI startup founder Kalebu Gwalugano, digital financial inclusion leader Faith Pella, startup association CEO Zahoro Muhaji, Sahara Ventures co-founder Jumanne Mtambalike, and SAG's Edwin Bruno. Other influential figures featured on the list are Iain Usiri of Ramani, Murtaza Ebrahim of Imperial Innovations, Godfrey Magila, Gibson Kawago, and Ng’winula Kingamkono of save-to-buy marketplace Tunzaa, Shule Direct’s Faraja Nyalandu, Diana Mbogo of Millennium Engineers, and Taha Jiwaji of social commerce enabler Beem.
UNDP Tanzania and the CRDB Bank Foundation signed an agreement to empower women-led enterprises with sustainable finance and financial training.
A new project called "TVET@WORK," aims to boost Tanzanian vocational education by training teachers in entrepreneurship, digital solutions, and industry collaboration. It’s funded by the EU and led by nonprofit organization HakiElimu. The initiative will develop trainers for VETA colleges and equip teachers with skills to prepare students for self-employment and market needs.
The 2024 Market Entry Expedition event, held in Dar es Salaam connected Ghanaian and Tanzanian enterprises to capitalize on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In 2023, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) reached TZS 225 trillion in stock value. That's a 68% year-on-year growth. Thanks in part to DSE’s mobile trading platform (Hisa Kiganjani), which enabled direct market participation without the need for stockbrokers.
Zanzibar is establishing a new Institute of Maritime Studies and Fisheries (IMSF) to strengthen its blue economy. The institute will train young people in marine resources, fishing, processing, and transportation. Thanks to funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Neurotech, which develops Sarufi (the conversational AI platform for African languages) held a virtual workshop on “cutting-edge techniques” in the development of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4.
Rukwa has the highest rate of mobile phone cybercrime, according to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). The region accounted for 38.7% of all cybercrime incidents involving mobile phones in the second quarter of 2023. In the past year, TCRA has blocked over 108,000 IMEIs (of fraudulent devices) and 52,000 phone numbers.
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