USAID SUPPORT “IMARISHA SEKTA BINAFI PROJECT”
The Minister of State President’s Office, Labour, Economy, and Investment, Hon. Sharif Ali Sharif , witnessed the handingover of the dummy cheques worth 1,476,002,500 Tanzanian Shillings to beneficiaries of the “Feed the Future-Improve Private Sector” project sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at an event held at the Golden Tulip Hotel located at Zanzibar Airport.
Speaking before handing over, Hon. Sharif expressed gratitude to the United States Government for recognizing and supporting the efforts made by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar to ensure various measures are devised and implemented to alleviate poverty among the citizens.
Furthermore, Hon. Sharif stated that the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government will ensure that the funds are utilized to fulfill every commitment outlined in the program. Meanwhile, the USAID Resident Director, Mr. Graig Hart, expressed satisfaction with the enthusiasm shown by the youth in demonstrating innovation in seeking alternative solutions to challenges in accessing finances.
Before this incident, the Chief Executive Officer of the Zanzibar Economic Empowerment Agency (ZEEA), Mr. Juma Burhan Mohamed, thanked the sponsors and congratulated the beneficiaries for the funds they have received.
He added that, this is the result of agreements signed in April 2023 between the Government through ZEEA and USAID, where approximately 12,000 youths are expected to benefit from the Feed the Future project.
In this phase, five institutions have benefited from these funds, namely Zanzibar Cube, Chamber of Commerce, Agriedo Hub, Employment for Marginalized Community, and Southern Corridor Alliance for Agriculture.
HESLB and ZEEA Sign Agreement to Empower Loan Beneficiaries in Self-Employment
The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) and the Zanzibar Economic Empowerment Agency (ZEEA) have signed an agreement aimed at seeking employment opportunities for beneficiaries of higher education loans to enable them to repay the given loans.
The signing ceremony took place on 18th March 2024 at the HESLB offices located at the Dar es Salaam Postal Street and was attended by the Chairman of the HESLB Board of Directors, Prof. Hamisi Dihenga, the Executive Director of HESLB, Dr. Bill Kiwia, the Executive Director of ZEEA, Juma Burhan Mohamed, and other executives from HESLB and ZEEA.
“In addition to employment opportunities, we are entering into this partnership to accelerate the repayment of loans from entrepreneurs who have benefited from higher education loans and also to signify goodwill and enhance efficiency through strategic partnerships as directed by our leaders, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan and Dr. Hussein Mwinyi,” said Dr. Kiwia at the event.
Dr. Kiwia stated that through this agreement, HESLB will continue to empower youth to acquire education through loans, while ZEEA will enhance their skills through incubation centers to increase their self-employment or employment opportunities, particularly in the tourism and Blue Economy sectors.
On his part, ZEEA Executive Director Juma Burhan Mohamed said their institution is building the capacity of youth through incubation centers in Zanzibar aimed at enhancing the skills of university graduates.
“We met for the first time on February 28th of this year, but since both parties have shown readiness, that is why today we have been able to reach this stage of signing agreements that will enable more efficiency for our institutions,” said Director Mohamed.
ZEEA is a public institution established in 2022 to empower Zanzibar citizens economically. Additionally, HESLB was established in 2004 to provide loans to needy students and collect matured loans from beneficiaries of higher education loans provided by the Government since the academic year 1994/1995.
ZANZIBAR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE
The Second Vice President of Zanzibar Hon. Hemed Suleiman Abdallah attending the empowerment conference for women held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Zanzibar. The conference, which was organized by the Tanzania Women Chamber Of Commerce aimed at putting focus on women’s efforts in economic self-advancement and explore various opportunities for women to benefit from.