Invest in youth to unlock blue economy – Minister
DAR ES SALAAM: MINISTER of State in the President’s Office – Youth Development, Mr Joel Nanauka, has called for greater investment in young people to unlock the full potential of the blue economy, particularly by addressing gaps in financing, technology, skills and market access.
Mr Nanauka said empowering young people to turn innovative ideas and research into sustainable businesses and employment was critical to ensuring the blue economy delivers wider economic and social benefits.
He made the call on Wednesday during a side-event dialogue dubbed “Youth as a Major Driver of Sustainable Blue Economy in the Western Indian Ocean Region”, held on the sidelines of the 12th Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention (COP12) in Dar es Salaam.
He said opportunities for young people existed across sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, seaweed and marineproduct value chains, marine tourism, maritime services, conservation, waste management and recycling, renewable energy, digital technologies and marine spatial planning.
“Our task as a team must be to create pathways through which young people can turn skills into employment, ideas into enterprises, research into solutions and innovation into economic value,” he said.
Mr Nanauka said opportunities must not only be accessible to young people but also productive, requiring stronger links between education and industry, research and policy, innovation and investment, as well as enterprises and markets.
He called for collaboration among the government, financial institutions, development partners, investors, research institutions, academia and the private sector to create conditions enabling youth-led enterprises and innovations to grow.
“A promising aquaculture enterprise, marine technology solution or approach to plastic waste management may not reach its potential without the right enabling conditions,” he said.
Mr Nanauka also called for greater participation of young scientists and researchers in ocean governance and policymaking, saying the region needed a new generation of marine scientists, researchers, technology developers and policy practitioners.
He said youth participation should extend beyond entrepreneurship to include science, innovation, policymaking and community-based conservation initiatives.
“The Nairobi Convention provides an important regional framework through which this contribution can be translated into collective action,” he said.
Mr Nanauka identified four priorities for strengthening youth participation in the blue economy: expanding investment and entrepreneurship opportunities; increasing the participation of young scientists and researchers in ocean governance and policy; enabling innovation and technology to move from ideas to practical and scalable solutions; and strengthening coastal and island communities’ capacity in conservation, climate resilience and sustainable management of marine resources.
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He said regional cooperation across the Western Indian Ocean could help young people and institutions exchange knowledge, build networks and access opportunities in different countries.
He noted that youth in coastal and island communities were already contributing to mangrove restoration, sustainable fisheries, marine conservation, climate adaptation and community-based resource management.
“Strengthening these initiatives can simultaneously advance livelihoods, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development,” he said.
Mr Nanauka urged participants to ensure the dialogue produced practical commitments to inform the COP12 process, including meaningful youth participation in ocean governance, expanded opportunities for skills, employment, entrepreneurship and investment and stronger pathways for youth-led science, innovation and technology to reach communities and markets.
He said Tanzania established its Blue Economy Policy in 2024, together with a 10-year implementation strategy covering 2024 to 2034, aimed at ensuring blue economy development contributes to sustainable economic growth, environmental integrity, investment and opportunities for young people.
“Our task that lies ahead of us now is to ensure that young Tanzanians are positioned within this transformation, not at its margin but at the centre,” he said.
He called on governments, regional institutions, development partners, financial institutions, academia and the private sector to establish practical mechanisms enabling young people to participate in decision-making, access finance and markets, contribute to science and innovation and lead community-based solutions.
As the Nairobi Convention enters its fifth decade, Mr Nanauka said greater investment in youth skills and enterprises, coupled with stronger participation in ocean governance, would help translate young people’s potential into knowledge, businesses, innovation, jobs and sustainable solutions.
