IRINGA: POVERTY, unemployment and limited access to financial services continue to deny thousands of Tanzanians the opportunity to achieve their full economic potential. Across both rural villages and bustling urban centres, many people possess the determination, creativity and practical skills needed to build successful businesses. Yet their ambitions are often frustrated by inadequate business knowledge, lack of start-up capital, poor financial literacy and limited access to profitable markets.
It is this persistent challenge that Hand in Hand Eastern Africa–Tanzania (HIHEA) is determined to overcome through an enterprise development model that equips people with practical skills rather than temporary handouts. The organisation believes that sustainable businesses create sustainable jobs and sustainable jobs create lasting solutions to poverty.
As part of the global Hand in Hand network, HIHEA focuses on reducing poverty through entrepreneurship and enterprise development, paying particular attention to women, young people and smallholder farmers. Its mission is to help women and their communities escape poverty by creating sustainable enterprises, while its vision is to build an empowered society supported by thriving businesses and decent employment opportunities.
The organisation is guided by core values that include integrity, professionalism, innovation, customer focus, teamwork and respect for all principles that underpin every project it implements across the country.
Strengthening its footprint in Tanzania, HIHEA has officially launched its regional office in Iringa while simultaneously rolling out the three-year Inua 2 Project, which will run from March 2026 until May 2029. The ambitious programme, valued at more than 2.8 billion shillings, is expected to directly benefit about 8,000 people through entrepreneurship development, modern agriculture and improved livestock production.
The opening of the Iringa office represents far more than simply establishing another regional branch. It marks another important milestone in the organisation’s strategy to expand economic empowerment programmes to communities that need them most while helping families build resilient and sustainable livelihoods.
At the heart of the Inua 2 Project is the goal of strengthening entrepreneurship, increasing household incomes and creating employment opportunities, especially for women and young people who continue to face significant barriers when trying to participate fully in economic activities.
Rather than focusing solely on income generation, the project also seeks to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen small enterprises and enhance household financial resilience while addressing social and gender inequalities that often prevent many people from realising their economic potential.
Speaking during the official launch, Iringa Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS), Mr Elias Luvanda, welcomed HIHEA’s decision to establish operations in the region, describing it as a timely intervention that complements government efforts to stimulate local economic development.
He observed that many women and young people already possess entrepreneurial talent but frequently lack adequate skills in business planning, financial management, record keeping and investment decision-making.
According to Mr Luvanda, the training and mentorship that will be offered by HIHEA are expected to bridge these gaps by equipping beneficiaries with the knowledge and confidence needed to transform simple business ideas into successful and sustainable enterprises.
He further expressed the government’s expectation that the organisation will strengthen the capacity of women and youth in business management and business plan preparation, enabling them to access available financing opportunities more easily.
With stronger business plans and improved financial management skills, beneficiaries will also be better positioned to qualify for loans from financial institutions and benefit from the ten per cent loan funds allocated by local government authorities to women, youth and people with disabilities.
HIHEA Executive Director Ms Jane Sabuni explained that the organisation has deliberately adopted an approach that differs from many conventional development programmes.
Instead of distributing direct financial assistance, HIHEA focuses on empowering communities with practical entrepreneurship skills, strengthening community savings groups, facilitating access to financial services and linking entrepreneurs with profitable markets.
“Our organisation does not provide direct loans. Instead, we empower people through entrepreneurship training, strengthen savings groups, facilitate access to financial services and connect entrepreneurs to profitable markets,” she said.
It is a philosophy best summarised as teaching people how to grow businesses rather than simply giving them money. After all, as the old saying goes, giving someone a fish feeds them for a day but teaching them how to run a profitable fish business can feed an entire family for years. That may sound like a business joke, but for many households it represents a life-changing reality.
Ms Sabuni disclosed that approximately 70 per cent of the project’s total budget will go directly to beneficiaries through entrepreneurship training, business development services and enterprise growth initiatives, ensuring that most of the investment reaches the communities it is intended to serve.
She noted that the organisation’s enterprise development model has already produced encouraging results in several regions, including Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Singida, Manyara and Dodoma.
Evidence from a three-year pilot intervention in Arusha illustrates the potential impact of the model. Women entrepreneurs participating in the programme recorded an average income increase of 117 per cent, translating into additional monthly earnings of more than 150,000/-.
Beyond improved incomes, similar interventions have enabled thousands of beneficiaries to establish businesses, create employment opportunities for others and significantly improve their quality of life.
Women remain at the centre of the Inua 2 Project. Approximately 80 per cent of all participants are expected to be women, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to addressing long-standing gender inequalities that continue to limit women’s economic participation.
Many women still face challenges ranging from limited access to productive resources and financial services to restricted decision-making power within households and cultural norms that discourage active participation in business.
To overcome these obstacles, the project incorporates a gender-transformative approach that actively involves men, community leaders and families in promoting equality, cooperation and shared decision-making.
Ms Sabuni stressed that sustainable social transformation cannot be achieved by working with women alone.
“We also involve men and community leaders because lasting change requires support from the entire community. When women are empowered economically, families and communities benefit as well,” she said.
This inclusive approach aligns closely with both national development priorities and international efforts aimed at promoting gender equality, reducing poverty and fostering inclusive economic growth.
The launch of the Iringa regional office also supports Hand in Hand Eastern Africa–Tanzania’s broader 2025–2030 Acceleration Strategy, an ambitious roadmap designed to support more than 50,000 entrepreneurs across Tanzania and Kenya.
Through this strategy, the organisation hopes to help entrepreneurs achieve sustainable income levels while strengthening their resilience against economic shocks such as rising living costs, climate-related challenges and fluctuating markets.
Meanwhile, HIHEA Iringa Branch Manager Mr Amos Kassanga said implementation of the project’s first phase will begin in Iringa Municipal Council and Iringa District Council, covering 12 wards and benefiting approximately 4,000 people before expanding to Kilolo District and other parts of the region.
ccording to Mr Kassanga, entrepreneurship training will be complemented by practical agricultural education aimed at helping farmers increase productivity, improve quality and generate higher profits.
Demonstration farms will play a key role by providing hands-on learning opportunities where farmers can gain practical experience in modern farming methods, climate-smart agriculture and improved livestock management practices.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen agricultural value chains, improve market access and encourage farmers to adopt technologies capable of increasing production while reducing unnecessary losses.
“With the support of demonstration farms and practical learning approaches, beneficiaries will gain hands-on experience that will help them improve yields and operate more profitable enterprises,” Mr Kassanga explained.
As implementation begins, expectations remain high that the Inua 2 Project will make a meaningful contribution to employment creation, poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth throughout the Iringa Region.
By equipping thousands of people with entrepreneurial skills, financial knowledge, stronger savings systems and improved access to markets, the initiative aims to help households build businesses capable of supporting families for generations.
Ultimately, HIHEA’s message is simple yet powerful: lasting prosperity is not built on dependence but on opportunity, knowledge and enterprise. When communities are empowered to create their own businesses, they create jobs, strengthen local economies and write their own success stories—one enterprise at a time.