Our work in Tanzania

In report after report and group meeting after meeting, we see it: the appetite for entrepreneurship programmes in Tanzania is huge. Despite this – or perhaps at the root of it – starting a business in East Africa’s biggest country is hard and getting harder all the time. Tanzania is ranked 141 for ‘starting a business’ in the World Bank’s Doing Business report, lower than any Hand in Hand operating country outside of Afghanistan. For women, especially those living rurally, the story gets even worse.

Read on to learn more about our programmes, meet our entrepreneurs and find out how you can help women in Tanzania overcome the odds.

Members trained: 29,296

85% of our Self-Help Group members are women. The rest are their husbands, brothers and sons

Businesses started: 20,025

Hand in Hand entrepreneurs are farmers, shop owners, tailors and more

Jobs created: 27,977

“Development happens through jobs,” says the World Bank. Our entrepreneurs make their own success, breaking the cycle of dependency

Lives improved: 110,065

Every business we help create in Tanzania benefits an average of five family members

Featured projects

Male engagement in north Tanzania

A joint-project between Hand in Hand, Cartier Philanthropy and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is boosting women’s entrepreneurship by changing the attitudes of men.

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The situation for women

Lower incomes. Unpaid farm work. Limited access to training, financial services and support. For women in Tanzania, barriers to entrepreneurship are everywhere. For rural and older women, they can be insurmountable without help.

73% of farm owners are men

Women do 66% of unpaid farm labour

60% of women live in extreme poverty

27% of women are illiterate

Meet our entrepreneurs

Your donation at work

Drag the scrollbar to see how you can make an impact in Tanzania

176 Members Trained
252 Business Supported
194 Jobs Created
63 Lives Changed
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Independent evaluations

Baseline study

Published by Ipsos, our Tanzania baseline study provides Hand’s in Hand’s clearest picture yet of life in our target areas and establishing the baseline by which future progress will be measured.

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Expansion map

We’re based in two regions in the country’s northeast. Densely populated, relatively literate and demonstrating a strong appetite for entrepreneurship, Arusha and Moshi provide an ideal context for our work. They’re also just across the border from Kenya, home of Hand in Hand Eastern Africa.

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Meet Janet Maro, trustee

Janet Maro is a development expert and board member of Hand in Hand Eastern Africa. In 2011 she founded Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania, the country’s leading centre for organic and sustainable farming.

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