Dodoma — The National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC) has successfully created 145,245 jobs to Tanzanians through execution of strategic projects in the 2022/2023 financial year.
She noted that during the respective year, NEEC also contracted 2,010 Tanzanian companies in strategic projects being implemented in the country and successfully loaned 6.1tri/- to 8,650,257 entrepreneurs of which 4,747,321 were women and 3,902,936 men.
NEEC Executive Secretary Ms Beng'i Issa revealed that here yesterday while briefing reporters on success recorded in the last financial year and implementation of this financial year's plans.
She said the jobs included both skilled and unskilled personnel.
"In the last financial year we have successfully created 145,245 jobs, where women who were employed in these projects were 20 per cent and men were 80 per cent, small number of women is due to the nature of the projects and the environment, most of these projects require energy and are implemented far away from the homes so they are not women-friendly," she said.
She added that during the 2022/2023 financial year NEEC in collaboration with various institutions has been able to establish a SANVN Viwanda Scheme programme that facilitated the provision of loans worth 3.8 bn/- to 65 projects in 13 regions.
"In the last financial year, we have partnered with NSSF, Azania Bank, VETA and SIDO to establish this programme where through it we have been able to provide loans worth 3.4bn/- in various projects in the country," she said.
"This programme is focused on the processing of agricultural and livestock produce so as to increase the products produced by small and medium-sized industries in the country," she added.
Beng'i said that from 2018 to June 2023 NEEC has successfully established 18 economic empowerment centres in Shinyanga, Geita, Singida, Rukwa, Kigoma and Dodoma regions with the aim of enabling citizens to access services.
"These centres help citizens formalise their business, register them, get soft loans and training to improve their businesses," she said.
She explained that in the last financial year, these centres were able to provide loans worth 9.4 bn/- to 4,017 entrepreneurs.
NEEC also successfully established an economic empowerment database aimed at connecting Tanzanian investors and providers with the aim of providing jobs to Tanzanians in the last financial year, with 186 Tanzanian service providers and 17 investors joining the system.
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Explaining on implementation of the 2023/2024 financial year plans, Ms Issa said NEEC intends to improve the three economic empowerment centres in Nyang'wale, Mlele and Mbinga councils by helping them find areas and renovate them to move economic empowerment services closer to the people.
She said that NEEC also looks forward to help women and youths to formalise their businesses so that they can access more opportunities, including soft loans and training opportunities, as well as to continue to work with all established economic groups (i.e. VICOBA) and ensure it addresses the challenges facing these groups.
"NEEC also intends to complete the process of integrating the country's empowerment funds with the aim of bringing productivity and efficiency to the provision of loans and securities in commercial banks, the process of integrating these funds began in 2019, we hope to complete it this year" she said.
