Tanzania allocates 280bn/-as loan guarantees for its youth

DODOMA: THE Tanzanian government has allocated  280bn/- , already deposited at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), to serve as loan guarantees for youth as part of efforts to address unemployment in the country, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba announced today, April 9, 2026.

Speaking in Parliament in Dodoma during the Prime Minister’s Question-and-Answer session, Dr Nchemba stated that the initiative aims to enable young people to access capital to start and expand economic activities.

He further noted that the government is in the early stages of developing a framework that will allow university graduates to use their academic certificates as collateral when applying for loans. He explained that one key barrier for graduates is the lack of acceptable collateral required by financial institutions, which limits their access to financing.

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According to the Prime Minister, the proposed model is designed to link academic qualifications directly to self-employment opportunities. For instance, pharmacy graduates would be able to use their certificates to secure loans to establish pharmacies, while engineering graduates could access financing to acquire professional equipment and launch their own ventures.

Dr Nchemba added that the government plans to present the proposal to Parliament for deliberation and approval, to establish a formal implementation framework that will benefit a larger number of young people across the country.