Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT) has expressed satisfaction with the ongoing success stemming from the legal and regulatory changes made in 2024 regarding the 10% loans for women, youth, and people with disabilities provided by the Local Government Authorities.

This statement was made today, February 14, 2025, by Dr. Joel Matiku, the Coordinator of the Research Project on the Implementation of the 10% Loan Programme for Women and Youth, during a workshop organized by MJNUAT to discuss the results of the research and gather stakeholders’ opinions on how to improve the loans and enhance their impact on the beneficiaries as well as the country's economy in general.

"When we started the project in our first workshop in 2022, several issues were raised by local government officials, directors, community development officers, NGOs, and other stakeholders. The issues were aired out and the Government has reacted so that we can now see success, as some of the previously raised issues have been addressed by the government," explained Dr. Matiku.

Dr. Matiku provided examples of these success such as group members being allowed to implement projects owned by individual members within the group, extension of the youth age limit to 45 years, and the inclusion of financial institutions in the loan distribution process.

Additionally, Mungere Majura, a Community Development Officer and Loan Coordinator from Serengeti District Council, emphasized that this research has already impacted and will yield positive results in the implementation of the 10% loan scheme.

"This research will help us as Community Development Officers and the public with the challenges we face, and assist the government to achieve its goals through this loan scheme. Since this research began, we have seen positive results in a short period, with legal adjustments made and various guidelines developed for the disbursement and repayment of these loans," Majura explained.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT), who is also the Principal Investigator in the project, Prof. Lesakit Mellau, opened the workshop and highlighted the university's goal of producing graduates capable of creating employment – self-employment and hiring others – to address the employment challenges facing Tanzania and the world.

This one-day workshop is a continuation of the researchers' efforts to disseminate research findings and collect stakeholders’ inputs on the 10% loan scheme to meet the research goal of providing recommendations to address policies, legal, and curricula gaps towards transition to self-employment and jobs creation by women and youth in Tanzania.

This research is being conducted by researchers from Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT) and Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in collaboration with the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government, and is expected to be completed in September 2025.