East African Business Week

ARUSHA, TANZANIA- The central bank is carrying out a number of economic reforms aimed at supporting small and medium scale enterprises.
According to the Bank of Tanzania, Arusha branch Director , Mr Othmani Kitine, the reforms will help the small and medium scale firms improve their competitiveness in the East African Community Common Market which became effective July 1, 2010.
"Tanzania by December last year had 42 commercial banks with 460 branches, however, only 12.3% out of a population of 40m people are banked. We target to increase that %age to 50 by the year 2016," Kitine said recently at the end of the four day PAMOJA trade fair in Arusha.
PAMOJA trade fair organized for the first time by the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry attracted (TCCIA) attracted over 50 banking, health and insurance companies.
Kitine said Tanzanians have complained about the high interest rates charged by the commercial banks.  
"The banks had also complained of high risks involved in lending out money to clients whose history of financial transactions are not known.  That's why the bank is in the process of establishing a credit reference bureau that would enable commercial banks access the history of clients who apply for bank loans", Kitine said.
"The government through the Bank of Tanzania is in the process of establishing a credit reference bureau that would enable banks access information about clients who want to borrow money all aimed at helping small and medium scale enterprises to borrow money and expand their projects, he explained.
He said plans were underway to change the Tanzania Investment Bank into a development bank, preparing the nationals for public private partner ships and establishment of the Tanzania Agricultural Development bank.
"I urge all the financial institutions to exploit all the above programmes that would enable you to expand your services which are targeted to benefit the local investors," he said.
He said the government has identified the private sector through the small and medium scale businesses as the only engine of growth.
"The small and medium scale firms (SME) policy recognizes the private sector as the engine of growth and that is why government is enhancing all those programmes for its success," he said.
TCCIA Arusha regional treasurer Alphonse Massaga said the purpose of the trade fair is to build bridges between the business community and the banking, insurance and health institutions.
"It is from these fairs that the business community access more information on the services provided by the financial and insurance institutions," he noted.
TCCIA executive officer Liliane Pasape appealed for government support for the next trade fair whose preparations starts this month.