EU Global Gateway to support Digitalisation and Digital Trade in Tanzania
During the 6th Tanzania Annual ICT Conference (TAIC) 2022 held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Zanzibar, the European Union (EU) officially launched the new project under the Digital4Tanzania Programme, Tanzania-Inclusive Digital Economy (TIDE) in partnership with UNCDF. The session included a panel discussions with representatives from the innovation and fintech ecosystem, representatives from the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, and the Director General of the ICT Commission, Dr. Nkundwe Moses Mwasaga.
In March 2022 the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Planning of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mr. Emmanuel Tutuba, and the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Tanzania, H.E. Manfredo Fanti, signed the EU-funded financing agreement for the EU Digital4Tanzania Programme to support the Digital Sector for a total amount of EUR 35 Million (TZS 80 billion), all in grants.
The Programme forms part of the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. In Tanzania the EU is rolling out its Global Gateway, among other actions, to support the Digital Agenda of the Government of Tanzania to connect goods, people and services, to the benefit of all Tanzanians. Finally, it will empower Tanzania’s women and girls by promoting their rights and unlocking their strong potential to boost the Tanzanian economy.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Jocelin Cornet, Head of Infrastructure and Regional Cooperation at the EU Delegation, reiterated the commitment to improve digital infrastructure, tools, policies and services such that enable greater access to and usage of affordable, digitally-enabled services.
“As a crosscutting issue, digitalisation has the potential to boost inclusive economic growth in all sectors and increase citizens wellbeing. To achieve these goals, our programme is structured to bring meaningful dialogue, around policy reforms and ICT mainstreaming.” said Mr. Cornet.
This important development coincides with the visit of the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms Jutta Urpilainen, in Tanzania this week, with the Global Gateway featuring high on her agenda.
The EU is actively building a stronger partnership in Africa through the Digital4Development - D4D Hub, a network of European Member States, to promote digital transformation, digital economy and data governance. The EU has also activated a specific facility, EU CyberNet, to provide technical support in the field of cybersecurity and cybercrime. Both the D4D Hub and CyberNet are built already working with Tanzanian Authorities to share best practices and strengthen cybersecurity.
Tanzania Inclusive Digital Economy (TIDE)
TIDE is a 4.5 Mio EUR project to be implemented in partnership with UNCDF in the next four years, with the aim to improve access and usage of digital payments and digital financial services. It also aims at improving the Tanzania’s fintechs ecosystem to better support entrepreneurs and further drive digital innovation.
The project will contribute to the development of a national inclusive digital economy strategy, as well as the design and implementation of policies to improve the business ecosystem for fintech start-ups and MSMEs—such as those that operate in the blue economy in Zanzibar. Additionally, TIDE will strengthen the open digital payment ecosystem and the integration of small Digital Financial Service Providers (such as MFIs, SACCOs) into the Tanzania national payment system (TIPS) to offer an affordable access to digital financial services to people in Mainland and Zanzibar. TIDE will also work on the innovation ecosystem to support young entrepreneurs, including ones from Zanzibar and/or fintech startups and e-commerce firms that serve customers in Zanzibar’s blue economy.
More information about the Global Gateway:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/global-gateway_en