DODOMA, Tanzania: The Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups has recorded significant progress in formalising and empowering small-scale traders across the country as President Samia Suluhu Hassan marks 100 days since assuming office for her second term.
A total of 119,595 traders have been registered under the Small Business Management and Registration System (WBN–MIS), unlocking access to economic opportunities previously unavailable to the informal sector.
Of these, 73,341 are women and 46,254 men, including 103,102 petty traders, 12,384 small-scale food vendors and 4,109 motorcycle taxi (bodaboda) and auto-rickshaws (bajaj) operators.
Presenting the 100-day performance report to reporters in Dodoma yesterday, docket minister, Dr Dorothy Gwajima said the achievements reflect President Samia’s commitment to building an inclusive economy that broadens participation for all citizens.
She recalled the president’s pledge during the 2025 election campaigns to prioritise the formalisation of microentrepreneurs, particularly food vendors, transport service providers and petty traders, to enable them to access government services and contribute meaningfully to national development.
“The informal sector remains the backbone of the economy, employing large numbers of women, youth and persons with disabilities. The government is determined to ensure these groups access secure markets, financing opportunities and recognition within formal systems,” she said.
In line with this goal, Dr Gwajima said the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has registered 1,216 groups of women, youth, persons with disabilities and elders in the National e-Procurement System (NeST), enabling them to compete for public tenders.
So far, 1,123 groups have secured contracts, including 426 women’s groups worth 13.7bn/-, 630 youth groups worth 15.4bn/-, 25 groups of persons with disabilities worth 233.2m/- and 42 groups of elders with contracts totalling 1.73bn/-.
The minister said the government has also mobilised 10.5bn/- for low-interest loans to small traders. Of this amount, 1.35bn/- has been disbursed to 588 beneficiaries through NMB Bank, while 337.9m/- has been provided to 45 women entrepreneurs through the Women Development Fund at a four per cent interest rate.
Through the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), 209,632 motorcycle and three-wheeler operators have been formalised and licensed, while 6,041 groups representing 30,205 entrepreneurs have been registered via the Wezesha Portal under the President’s Office– Regional Administration and Local Government (PO– RALG).
The ministry has processed 125,621 business licences through the TAUSI system, while local government authorities issued statutory 10 per cent loans worth 33.45bn/- to 3,776 groups.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO), 16,325 entrepreneurs have been formalised and 11,000 trained in business skills.
SIDO has also issued 265 loans worth 1.08bn/-, generating 652 jobs, including 489 for youth. Dr Gwajima said 4,578 entrepreneurs in fisheries and livestock were formalised, alongside 126 livestock cooperatives, while 317 youth were supported to invest in aquaculture and marinebased enterprises, backed by 7bn/- in government funding.
Under the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme, 282 youth were supported to engage in agribusiness at a 6,465-acre farm in Kaliua, Tabora Region, while 532,023 farmers were registered in the fertiliser subsidy system. She added that 2,239 small-scale miners have been for-malised, enabling them to operate legally and access financial services.
Beyond economic empowerment, the minister said the government has strengthened social welfare programmes, including intergenerational dialogue initiatives, expanded psychosocial services reaching 171,529 people and enhanced social welfare desks at transport hubs.
Through these efforts, 2,699 children were rescued and linked to essential services by December 2025. She also noted the launch of the National Women’s Economic Empowerment Platform Secretariat to coordinate initiatives aimed at increasing women’s participation in the economy.
Similar engagements with male-focused platforms seek to strengthen family responsibility and combat genderbased violence.
