SELF Microfinance Fund (SELF MF) plans to lend TZS 300 billion to 200,000 beneficiaries over the next five years as part of its 2026–2030 strategic plan.
SELF MF is a government institution under the Ministry of Finance. It was established in 2015 to replace the Small Entrepreneurs Loan Facility Project, which had operated for 15 years. Its mandate is to provide microloans, support job creation, and help small entrepreneurs access productive financial services.
Chief Executive Officer Santieli Yona said the plan focuses on three priorities: expanding outreach to low-income clients, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring financial sustainability.
“We want to reach more low-income earners while providing financial literacy. We will also expand our branch network from 12 to 22 branches by 2030 and use more technology to improve services,” she said today during a media briefing in Dar es Salaam.
Between 2021 and June 30, 2025, SELF MF issued loans worth TZS 196.9 billion to 183,381 people. Women made up 53 percent of the beneficiaries and men 47 percent.
The non-performing loan ratio remained below 10 percent, and the Fund operated profitably.
During the same period, SELF MF supported 549 microfinance institutions with loans and capacity building.
The Fund also helped create an estimated 183,381 jobs through its borrowers and launched loans for clean cooking energy.
Financial literacy training reached 10,378 people.
Beneficiaries include WODESU Microcredit Ltd in Dodoma, which grew its clients from 500 to 4,878 women after borrowing three times from SELF MF.
Livestock farmer Hosiana Swai from Kitunda, Dar es Salaam, expanded from four cattle to 24, alongside 30 goats and 10 pigs, after taking loans from the Fund.
However, the Fund faces challenges such as low financial literacy, weak repayment culture, and the dominance of informal businesses among low-income borrowers.