Tanzania

Tanzania is located in Southern East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean. The estimated population is 38 million. Its economy is mostly based on agriculture which provides 80 percent of the nation’s jobs.  Tanzania is in the bottom 10 percent of the world's economies in terms of per capita income.

• 36 percent of pop below the country’s poverty line
• 17 percent of children under five suffer malnutrition
• 45 percent of its population does not have access to an improved water source
• 33 percent had sustainable access to improved sanitation 

Photo credit CIA Factbook

The Ministry of Finance adopted a microfinance policy in 2000. The government of Tanzania sees microfinance as an important tool in their fight against poverty. Their official position statement is: Poverty is multi-dimensional. So no single intervention can defeat poverty. However, access to financial services forms a fundamental basis on which many of the other essential interventions depend. The poor, like everyone else, need a variety of financial services, not just loans. When poor people have access to financial services, they earn more, build their assets and cushion themselves against external shocks. Poor households use such financing to move away from everyday survival to planning the future-that is , investing better in nutrition, health and education. The multiples roles of the financial services to the poor parallel the multiple dimensions of the poverty captured in the Millennium Development Goal.

Grameen Foundation is now exploring ways to support the efforts of microfinance institutions in Tanzania.