Tanzania’s creative power to transform into economic engine

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA is entering a new phase, in which culture and the creative industries are being positioned not only as foundations of national identity and social cohesion, but also as sources of employment, entrepreneurship and economic growth under Development Vision 2050.

The ambition of building a 1 trillion US dollareconomy requires more than expansion in traditional sectors.

It calls for investment, higher productivity, technology, infrastructure, trade, value addition and broader participation across the economy, including the creative industries.

For culture, the opportunity lies in turning Tanzania’s rich cultural resources into competitive products and services, while ensuring that the people who create and preserve them benefit from the value generated.

While tabling the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports’ 2026/27 budget in the National Assembly in Dodoma recently, docket Minister Mr Paul Makonda said the sectors under his ministry had the potential to transform the lives of Tanzanians, particularly young people.

“These sectors are transformative. If properly managed, they will create employment for young people.

This will be my goal throughout the period I am in this position,” Mr Makonda told the august House.

His remarks place culture and creative activities within the wider economic transformation agenda, where the success of Dira 2050 will ultimately depend on whether economic expansion creates jobs, raises incomes and gives ordinary Tanzanians opportunities to participate in productive value chains.

The Long-Term Perspective Plan 2026/27– 2050/51 provides the implementation framework for the first phase of Dira 2050, with economic transformation, productivity, innovation and employment among its central concerns.

Dira 2050 framework also places the private sector at the centre of economic transformation, with the sector expected to contribute more than 70 per cent of economic growth.

This means achieving the wider economic ambition cannot depend on government spending alone. Businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and workers will all have to participate in production, investment, innovation and market expansion.

For the creative economy, this presents opportunities for artists, cultural enterprises and young entrepreneurs to move from informal activities into sustainable businesses capable of serving domestic, regional and international markets. One of the clearest opportunities is Kiswahili.

For decades, the language has played a central role in Tanzania’s national identity and social cohesion.

Its value, however, extends beyond communication, with opportunities emerging in publishing, translation, interpretation, education, tourism, broadcasting, entertainment and digital content.

National Kiswahili Council also known as Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa (BAKITA) Language Standardiser Kusanja Emmanuel says Kiswahili can be developed as a commercial product capable of generating income.

“Kiswahili can be used as a product that can be sold and generate income,” he says.

According to BAKITA regulations, commercial opportunities include manuscript editing, language checking and standardisation, translation, interpretation and teaching Kiswahili to foreigners.

Writing stories, traditional narratives and poems, organising Kiswahili competitions and providing other language-related services can also create income-generating opportunities. For young Tanzanians, this provides a direct link between skills and entrepreneurship.

A person with strong writing and editing skills can provide services to authors, institutions and businesses, while translators and interpreters can serve government agencies, international organisations, tourists and companies operating across borders. The opportunity is international.

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UNESCO estimates that more than 200 million people speak Kiswahili, creating a potential market for books, education, translation, entertainment, digital services and other Kiswahili-based products.

The National Kiswahili Corpus, known as KOKITA, is being developed as a resource for computer technology and artificial intelligence.

As digital services become increasingly important in education, communication, commerce and public services, stronger representation of Kiswahili in technology can create opportunities for Tanzanian developers and entrepreneurs.

Developers can create Kiswahili-based applications and digital tools, while writers, filmmakers, musicians and other creators can use online platforms to reach audiences beyond Tanzania.

Rather than treating culture simply as something to be preserved, Tanzania can use technology to package, distribute and commercialise cultural products. Kiswahili is only one part of Tanzania’s wider cultural wealth.

Traditional music and dance, crafts, clothing, food, historical sites, museums, festivals and traditional knowledge can also generate economic opportunities when properly documented, protected and connected to markets.

The Ministry’s 2026/27 budget includes measures to identify, document and preserve intangible cultural heritage while promoting it nationally and internationally.

Efforts to secure greater international recognition for the Kanga are among the initiatives. Such measures can strengthen cultural preservation while creating opportunities in tourism, fashion, crafts, publishing and entertainment.

UNESCO’s Crafting Change programme in Tanzania has also sought to connect cultural heritage with technical and vocational education, entrepreneurship and employment.

This connection is important because cultural knowledge alone does not automatically create a competitive business.

A traditional craft producer may possess valuable skills but still require knowledge of design, quality control, packaging, marketing and financial management to reach larger markets.

Similarly, musicians require knowledge of production, copyright, branding and digital distribution, while filmmakers need production, financing, marketing and distribution skills.

Skills development is, therefore, central to the Dira 2050 agenda. The framework calls for technical, digital, entrepreneurial and vocational skills, as well as apprenticeships, internships and stronger partnerships between training institutions and industry.

For the creative sector, these skills are essential to determine whether talent remains a small-scale activity or develops into a sustainable enterprise. Training institutions have an important role.

The Bagamoyo Institute of Arts and Culture is expected to enrol 900 students in long courses and 350 in short courses, alongside developing new arts and culture curricula and expanding short-course training.

Skills recognition can also help people whose abilities have been acquired outside formal classrooms.

Many creative workers learn through family traditions, community practice, apprenticeships and personal experience. Recognising and certifying such competencies can improve employability and help talented people access business and employment opportunities.

Skills alone, however, cannot deliver economic transformation. Entrepreneurs also need finance. A musician may have quality work but lack resources to record and market it.

A filmmaker may have a strong story but lack production equipment and capital. A fashion entrepreneur may have designs suitable for wider markets but lack machinery and materials.

The government is seeking to address part of this challenge through the Tanzania Culture and Arts Fund. Under the 2026/27 plans, the fund is expected to support stakeholders in the culture and arts sectors while strengthening their capacity in financial literacy, investment, marketing, ICT and social protection.

The programme targets 8,000 stakeholders through loans amounting to 20bn/- and anticipates the creation of 105,000 employment opportunities.

Such financing can help entrepreneurs move from small-scale operations towards more structured businesses. But access to finance must be accompanied by markets, technology, infrastructure and an enabling regulatory environment.

Dira 2050 framework identifies access to finance, taxation, infrastructure, skills, markets, technology and regulatory issues among the challenges businesses must overcome if the private sector is to play its expected role in economic transformation.

Markets are particularly important for creative enterprises. Digital platforms are changing how Tanzanian creators reach consumers.

A musician can distribute music beyond Dar es Salaam, a filmmaker can reach audiences across Africa and beyond, a writer can sell digital publications internationally and a designer can market products through online platforms.

One successful creative product can also generate income across an entire value chain.

A film creates opportunities for actors, directors, technicians, editors, costume designers, photographers, marketers and distributors. Music supports musicians, producers, sound engineers, promoters and digital distributors.

Fashion connects designers with tailors, photographers, suppliers and marketers. This multiplier effect demonstrates how creative industries can contribute to employment and income beyond individual creators.

The Vision framework calls for ordinary Tanzanians to benefit directly from economic expansion through employment, income generation, local businesses, skills development and access to markets.

For culture, this means communities preserving traditional knowledge, crafts, music, food and heritage should not remain outside the economic value chain.

A cultural festival, for example, can generate business for performers, food vendors, transport operators, accommodation providers, designers, photographers and other service providers.

Similarly, cultural tourism will create markets for local crafts and traditional products while generating income for communities. Investment is another critical component.

Dira 2050 calls for the identification of emerging investment opportunities across sectors and value chains, with particular attention to industrialisation, infrastructure, regional trade and technological advancement, while recognising opportunities for both domestic and foreign investors.

Within the creative economy, investment opportunities can extend from production and entertainment to digital platforms, cultural tourism, publishing, fashion, heritage sites, creative education and distribution.

Investors, however, require a business environment in which intellectual property is protected and markets are predictable. Intellectual property protection remains critical for creators.

Copyright enables artists and other creators to benefit from their work, while effective enforcement can reduce losses caused by piracy.

Formalisation is equally important because formal creative enterprises are easier to identify, support and finance and can be better reflected in national economic statistics.

The Ministry’s 2026/27 plans include measures aimed at strengthening the formalisation of creative activities and improving the commercialisation of artistic works.

The National Arts Council’s strategic plan indicates that the arts, recreation and entertainment segment has recorded growth, although it currently contributes about 0.9 per cent of GDP.

The figure also points to the potential for the sector to expand its contribution to the economy. Reliable data will become increasingly important as Tanzania works towards Vision 2050.

The Ministry’s plan to research the contribution of the arts sector to national income could help establish the actual size of the creative economy, identify areas requiring investment and measure the impact of interventions.

The transformation must also be supported by peace, security and stability. Vision 2050 links economic development with a stable environment that creates confidence for investment, business expansion, tourism and job creation.

Inclusive economic growth can also contribute to social stability by expanding opportunities and reducing economic exclusion. For creative businesses, stability is equally important.

Artists need safe spaces to work and perform, businesses need confidence to invest, tourists need security when visiting cultural destinations and entrepreneurs need an environment in which they can build businesses over the long term.

At the same time, commercialisation of culture must remain connected to national identity. The same digital platforms that create markets for Tanzanian cultural products also expose young people to influences from around the world.

The Government’s 2026/27 plans therefore include measures to strengthen public awareness of national values and traditions.

The challenge is to ensure that Tanzania participates fully in global markets while maintaining the cultural identity that gives its products their distinctiveness.

The wider lesson of Dira 2050 is that the 1 trillion US dollar-economy ambition is not simply a government target. It represents a broader economic opportunity requiring participation from Government, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, workers and ordinary citizens.

Culture has a place in that transformation because it brings together many of the elements identified in the Dira 2050 approach: entrepreneurship, employment, skills, technology, investment, value addition, markets and innovation. The task is to build the connections that allow these opportunities to grow.

Education must provide relevant skills, finance must reach viable entrepreneurs, technology must expand access to markets, intellectual property systems must protect creators, infrastructure must support production and distribution, while private businesses invest and create jobs within an enabling environment.

For ordinary Tanzanians, the measure of this transformation will ultimately be practical: whether young people can turn skills into employment, whether entrepreneurs can grow businesses, whether communities can earn from their cultural resources, whether creators can benefit from their intellectual property and whether Tanzanian products can reach wider markets.

Tanzania enters the Vision 2050 era with significant cultural assets, including Kiswahili, diverse traditions, heritage, creative talent and a population increasingly connected to digital technology.

Connecting these assets with investment, skills, technology, markets and private enterprise can give culture a larger role in the country’s journey towards the 1 trillion US dollar economy.

The transition from culture as identity to culture as an economic asset does not require abandoning tradition.

Rather, it requires giving Tanzania’s cultural resources the skills, protection, investment, technology and markets needed to create value.

In that way, the songs, languages, crafts, stories, traditions and creative talents that have long defined Tanzania can also become part of how its people create businesses, earn incomes, secure employment and participate in the economic transformation envisioned under Vision 2050