Picture Tanzania in 15 years: the IMF predicts that Tanzania’s economy will double, being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Its population will reach 100 million people, with the vast majority, about ¾, below the age of 35 years.

With this picture in mind, challenges and opportunities arise. Those who see the opportunities (and also address the challenges?) will be the successful entrepreneurs of tomorrow. I am sure the majority of you in the audience, you are the ones who can see opportunities.

How can enough jobs be created for the mounting youthful population? What resources will be needed to feed all the people, provide high-quality education, infrastructure, and other basic services for the coming generation? And most importantly, how can we become more efficient and effective in what we do? Where and how can we automate our tasks? How can we transform our processes, and how do we leapfrog into new ways of doing business?

The answer will lie with you, it will lie with your talent, your courage, and your perseverance to do what only a few people succeed in doing: jump into the unknown, start a business, navigate the challenges, and successfully scale your business!

The time has never been better for you to succeed on this journey, the vibrancy of the ecosystem cannot be overlooked. Just at the beginning of this week, I read that Tanzania set the record at AfriLab in South Africa, joining the conference with 25 innovation hubs (with a little help from FUNGUO, I suppose).

Venture capital funds are continuing to pour into Tanzania, we have not reached the volumes of other leading African countries, but we are steadily and consistently improving.

A new Venture Capital fund ‘RenewCapital’ just recently opened its office here in Tanzania. Also, just this week, the CMSA, the Capital Markets and Security Authority, has been discussing new regulations for Capital Funds, making it easier to invest and exit.

Don’t let these opportunities pass you by, be vigilant, responsive, and quick to seize them. Today is the third time I am here with YOU and the FUNGUO facility.

I am really proud to share this moment with all of you, where we unveil and congratulate the 3rd cohort under the FUNGUO facility. 28 start-ups had to undergo the final due diligence stage and 18 of them have been selected for funding. I can only imagine how competitive the process was.

I have to confess, I would have liked to see more female founders succeeding in this round. But I hope FUNGUO will review internally, and see how best to address this challenge for the next call, to ensure more female founders are succeeding.

For this cohort, I particularly like that we see so many different products from all kinds of sectors, all addressing different challenges we experience. And since we have not officially unveiled the start-ups, I will refrain from mentioning them here.

But having walked through the exhibition and sneaking a preview, I am once again impressed with the ingenuity of the different products and services offered.

Before I close, I would like to ensure all of you present that the European Union has – for several years – been wholeheartedly committed to supporting the start-up ecosystem. Just to mention a few initiatives we are currently funding in this space:

The FUNGUO programme, this is why we are here tonight; the PESATECH accelerator implemented by UNCDF providing grants specifically for FINTECHs; the first cohort of Business Angels under the Serengeti Business Angels Network; grant facilities such as Clean Cooking fund, AgriFI, ElectriFI, ClimAccelerator, and others; the efforts of Government to develop crowdfunding guidelines, the current discussion on the Venture Capital fund guidelines; the government’s efforts to develop new innovative financing instruments, including assessing the possibility of setting up a venture capital fund for Tanzania.

Beyond the direct start-ups ecosystem, we implement TZS 161 billion (EUR 55 million) to advance Tanzania’s digitalisation agenda, another TZS 67 billion (EUR 23 million) to improve the business environment and investment climate, and TZS 146 billio (EUR 50 million) to advance Tanzania’s Financing for Growth agenda.

Let me not take more of your time and allow me to conclude by wishing all of you here tonight, whether you are a successful investee, still at the reflection stage, or offering support to the ecosystem, I wish all of us that we continue working hard and supporting each other to make Tanzania one of the most dynamic start-up ecosystems in Africa.

Congratulations for your achievements!

Hongereni Sana. Asanteni Sana.