Tanzania Investment Centre Business Linkage Trainings Prove Successful

The Government of Tanzania has recognized the success of the business linkage trainings offered to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) through the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) and has pledged additional support to the program. In 2009, the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) in collaboration with UNCTAD launched a business linkage program in an effort to foster business linkages between large corporations and local SMEs in order to stimulate commercial solutions for both parties. According to the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office of Investment and Empowerment, Dr. Mary Nagu, the government is committed growing the program and to fostering an investment climate within the country that is conducive to the growth and development of SMEs. “SMEs contribute significantly to the national economic growth and their development must be prioritized,” Dr. Nagu indicated. Intervention under this program includes an intensive six-day entrepreneurship training Workshops (ETW), Business Development services and the facilitation of the acquisition of funds from financial institutions. Since the inception of the program, a total of 214s have benefited from the program and 15 Transnational Corporations (TNCs)/ large companies, both local and foreign, have become partners in the program