Tanzania's Finance Minister Ambassador Khamis Mussa Omar has held talks with International Finance Corporation Vice President Ethiopis Tafara in Bangkok to chart a course for accelerating private sector development and creating jobs for young people. The discussions centred on implementing Tanzania's DIRA 2050 development vision, which aims to expand the country's economy from its current size of 100 billion US dollars to 1 trillion US dollars within the next 25 years.
Ambassador Omar said achieving this target would require substantial private sector participation, particularly in manufacturing, infrastructure and agribusiness. He stressed that investment in these areas would drive economic growth and generate sustainable employment for young people. Tafara, whose organisation is part of the World Bank Group, confirmed that the IFC would continue supporting Tanzania's DIRA 2050 objectives by facilitating private sector investment in agricultural technology, healthcare, tourism and financial inclusion.
The IFC also signalled interest in helping develop Tanzania's Central Corridor, a project intended to boost economic activity across the region through the movement of goods and passengers while supporting businesses along the route. Both the minister and Tafara reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating projects in the energy and digital infrastructure sectors to strengthen their contribution to Tanzania's economic development.
A central concern in the talks was the financing gap affecting small and medium-sized enterprises. The IFC plans to work with fintech companies and non-bank lenders to expand credit access by using behavioural data to assess how likely borrowers are to repay loans, moving away from reliance on traditional collateral requirements alone. For Tanzanian savers and borrowers, this approach could mean easier access to credit for small businesses and entrepreneurs without requiring conventional security.