President Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to throw weight behind information and communications technology (ICT) for women and youths to cope with market related challenges.
The Head of State gave the AfCFTA conference held at Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam insisting that the continent will steadily excel economically only if the said groups can mainstream ICT in their undertakings.
Also, the President insisted on the importance of imparting youth skills on how to utilize available resources to boost income generation.
Mentioning various efforts made by her government in promoting and empowering women and youth in the country, she said her government has agreed with banks to provide loans with low interest to groups.
“Also, we have taken other steps by reviewing tax and levies so as to reduce the burden on female and youth entrepreneurs. We have started issuing certificates from the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS),” she said. Areas that have been supported so far are agro and mining processing.
Speaking earlier, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene said that the main purpose of the three-day event is to ensure that young people and small medium enterprises led by women are at the centers of benefits of the African continental free trade areas.
He said that over 60 per cent of Africa’s GDP is derived from SMEs led by women creating over 450 million jobs in the African continent.
