INCLU-CITIES

Towards Greener and more Inclusive Cities, new green jobs, and enterprises created, and existing ones are growing

BACKGROUND

Tanzania’s remarkable economic growth and urbanization over recent decades have not been without their challenges. Despite these positive trends, persistent issues such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality continue to plague the republic, particularly within urban centers such as Mwanza and Pemba. The challenges facing entrepreneurs, micro and small enterprises (MSEs), and growth oriented small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the urban areas of Mwanza and Pemba are multi-dimensional and interconnected. Enterprising people in these cities grapple with informal sector dominance, unemployment, and inequality (especially youth and women), financial exclusion, regulatory complexities, infrastructure deficits, lack of resources, market constraints, environmental concerns, and limited mentorship and networking. The primary beneficiaries of this initiative are entrepreneurs, particularly youth and women, and micro and small enterprises operating within the cities of Mwanza and Pemba. These individuals and entities constitute the backbone of local economies, yet their growth is hampered by a multitude of challenges. By addressing these challenges and enhancing their access to capital, skills, resources, and support networks, the initiative aims to empower them to become drivers of economic expansion, job creation, and inclusivity.

OBJECTIVES

General Objective: to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the cities of Mwanza and Pemba by enhancing support services, awareness, and access to resources for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Specific Objectives: the 6 ESOs (including 4 MBOs):

• Strengthen the ecosystem of service organisations by providing needs based technical assistance,

• Build capacity of participating service organisations regarding green, circular, digital economy of selected value chains,

• Enhance entrepreneurship, financial literacy of women and youth groups, and investment readiness of women owed and youth owned enterprises.

STRATEGIES

• Promote financial access to Small Scale Enterprises especially for women, youth and economically marginalized people.
• Promote the inclusion of enterprises in priority sectors and value chains, agriculture, fisheries, waste management and emerging green businesses.
• Business Development Services: business environment analysis, training, start-up coaching, incubation/prototyping, facilitating access to adapted financial products, multi-stakeholder dialogues and alliances with ecosystem actors.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

In order to fulfill the overarching goals of this project, Trias intends to collaborate with TCCIA, TWCCIA, and ZNCC, which are entrepreneur and farmer member-based organizations. This partnership aims to deliver improved business support services to these entities, primarily focused on augmenting their operational and financial efficiencies. Additionally, we will engage in partnerships with SIDO-TLED and SMIDA to provide industry-specific technical assistance tailored to entrepreneurs and MSMEs. Furthermore, we will establish a strategic alliance with Ennovate to furnish MSMEs and entrepreneurs with support services geared towards business expansion and investment readiness.