German Sparkassenstiftung Eastern Africa in Tanzania
Our office in Tanzania is based in Dar es Salaam
A Portrait of Tanzania
Tanzania is a country in East Africa that has a population of 61.74 million, according to the census results for 2022 provided by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics. About 64% of the population lives in poverty and 32% in extreme poverty. Tanzania is ranked 159 out of 189 in the Human Development Index report 2019. However, according to the Bank of Tanzania report 2022 the economy has grown steadily in recent years and achieved economic growth of 5.2%.
According to the 2023 FinScope report, only 18.7% of the population remains financially excluded from the formal sector. Particularly, youth and rural residents who depend on agriculture and other activities are among the most excluded individuals. Families remain the biggest supporter in terms of financial hardship.
Our vision and activities
German Sparkassenstiftung Eastern Africa started its operations in Tanzania in 2012 and became registered as an I-NGO in 2019 with registration No. I-NGO/R2/000334. DSIK in Tanzania has been working successfully in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza for the past six years. In January 2023 the head office was shifted to Dar es Salaam to ensure the continuous delivery of high-quality services to our partner institutions.
German Sparkassenstiftung and its partners continue to strengthen and professionalize the microfinance sector and promote vocational and financial education of broader segments of society to enhance financial inclusion and hence reduction of poverty in Tanzania.
DSIK in Tanzania is successfully working toward these goals with the Savings and Credit Cooperative Union League of Tanzania (SCCULT).
Current project activities in Tanzania
Institutional Strengthening of Partner Organisations
One of the key areas of focus for DSIK in Tanzania is the Institutional strengthening of partner organizations. This is achieved through providing strategic advisory, product development, and needs-based training to our partners. This has consistently improved our partners’ structure, strategic direction, and ensures their sustainability in Tanzania. A big achievement was SELF MF’s transition from a development project into a business-oriented microfinance organization and later the merger with another microfinance institution.
Digitalization of the Microfinance and SACCOS Sector
In 2019, DSIK in Tanzania launched an initiative to help advance digitalization in the microfinance sector. Through collaboration with TCDC, SCCULT, SELF MF, and TAMFI, this initiative aims to aid our partners in providing digital solutions to SACCOS and MFIs, while improving their digital infrastructure, digitalizing manual processes, and achieving interoperability. As part of these efforts, DSIK and SCCULT are now piloting e-Kamata, a tablet-based loan application management solution. This solution is designed to help financial institutions professionalize and digitize their loan processes, making them more accessible to rural customers and ultimately driving digitalization in the microfinance sector.
Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is one of the main keys to the successful development of a country. In contributing to strengthening the financial sector in Tanzania, DSIK in Tanzania with its local partners has been providing financial literacy training to adults to increase their financial resilience, and financial education for children in schools to increase their savings culture. To promote a savings culture in schools, DSIK in Tanzania has been establishing students’ savings clubs where students receive financial education every week to inculcate the savings culture, so they become good users and responsible consumers of financial services. In 2022, DSIK in Tanzania piloted its financial education for students in government schools with 34 primary schools and 57 secondary schools in Nyamagana na Ilemela districts in the Mwanza region. 183 government schoolteachers were trained, 6,500 students were reached and over 13,650 financial education books were issued to 91 schools involved in the project. The World Savings Week (WSW) which is celebrated annually in October is an integral part of DSIK financial education activities with the purpose of raising awareness of the importance of savings to the global and individual economies.
Business Game Simulations
DSIK in Tanzania provides training to small entrepreneurs and farmers who are clients of microfinance institutions and SACCOs using interactive board games which reflect real-life business situations, offering an innovative and interactive learning experience. Currently, the portfolio in Tanzania consists of the Micro-Business Game, Farmer’s Business Game, Savings Game, and Microfinance Business Game. The training equips the beneficiaries with knowledge and skills to professionalize their businesses. This has helped them to become more reliable customers of MFIs and SACCOs. Apart from delivering the training, DSIK also trains staff at partner organizations to conduct the business games themselves, hence ensuring sustainability.
Access to Finance for the rural population
In 2021, DSIK in partnership with SCCULT established a Credit Rotation Fund (CRF) aimed at promoting rural finance access. The primary goal of this initiative was and remains to alleviate the adverse effects of the economic downturn on microfinance customers and the industry as a whole. CRF provides member SACCOS with affordable credit and a chance to invest their surplus funds, leading to better financial stability. Through the CRF, DSIK not only provides short-term assistance to its partners but also secures their long-term sustainability, thereby supporting financial stability and growth.
Establishment of SACCOs- within AMCOS
In Tanzania, there are many Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS), whose members are currently dependent on external financial institutions for the provision of financial services, especially loans. To ease access to financial services, German Sparkassenstiftung, together with its partners SCCULT and TCDC, is supporting AMCOS in setting up SACCOS. In the long term, this will strengthen the cooperative movement in Tanzania.
Previous Achievement
In 2012, German Sparkassenstiftung through the Tanzania office successfully cooperated with TPB Bank PLC (former Tanzania Postal Bank). The objective of the partnership was to implement the professionalization and transformation of the bank through management training as well as making the bank technically and financially stable and sustainable. Moreover, the partnership was set with the aim to enhance the financial education of the general public in the areas of savings mobilization and financial literacy through savings and media campaigns, participating in the savings week in Kayanga (Kagera region) as well as conducting training and coaching of business simulations such as the Savings Game. The cooperation between German Sparkassenstiftung and TPB BANK ended in 2017 with the bank being financially stable and self-sufficient.
In 2012, German Sparkassenstiftung started to collaborate with the Tanzanian Association of Microfinance Institutions (TAMFI) with the purpose of reinvigorating TAMFI’s operation in Tanzania and ensuring its sustainability. The scope of the partnership centers on strategic advisory services, needs-based training for TAMFI’s members, and training for trainers. The project was successfully implemented and handed over to the partner TAMFI at the end of 2022.
In 2016, German Sparkassenstiftung started the cooperation with Karagwe Rural Development and Environmental Conservation Agency (KARUDECA) (Karawage district, in Kagera region) to support the organization in its long-term efforts to promote financial inclusion through the provision of financial education to students in primary and secondary schools in Karagwe region. The target group resulted from the recognition of the importance of financial education at an early age in school. The project was successfully implemented and handed over to the partner KARUDECA at the end of 2019.
