The Government is seeking to widen access to Tanzania’s mining economy for young people, women and people with disabilities through a new programme that aims to move them beyond basic mining activities into higher-value parts of the sector.
The Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow (MBT) programme, being showcased at the ninth National Mining Technology Exhibition in Geita, focuses on improving access to mining licences, geological information, finance, technology, skills and markets.
The programme covers the 2025-2030 period and is targeting groups that already make up a significant share of people involved in small-scale mining but continue to face barriers to expanding their businesses.
The scale of the opportunity is reflected in the 2022 Population and Housing Census, which shows that 6,030,575 Tanzanians are engaged in activities linked to small-scale mining.
Of these, more than four million, or 67.77 percent, are aged between 18 and 45, while women account for 51.3 percent. People with disabilities number 230,381, equivalent to 3.82 percent of participants in the mining value chain.
For the Ministry of Minerals, the figures point to a large population that could benefit from greater access to technology, capital, technical knowledge and markets.
One of MBT’s key interventions is to facilitate access to mining opportunities for young people, women and people with disabilities.
The programme proposes setting aside specific areas for these groups, undertaking geological surveys, supporting access to mining licences and helping beneficiaries form and register mining groups.
This comes against the backdrop of rapid growth in Tanzania’s small-scale mining sector. Between 1998 and April 2024, 46,708 small-scale mining licences were issued.
The challenge now is not only to increase participation, but also to ensure miners can generate greater economic returns from the minerals they produce.
MBT places emphasis on helping small-scale miners acquire modern equipment and improve their technical skills.
The programme proposes centres where miners can access machinery through lending or leasing arrangements at more affordable costs.
It also proposes the establishment of the Mineral Sector Enhancement Fund (MSEF) to improve access to affordable finance and credit.
For miners who often struggle to raise capital for equipment, processing and expansion, access to financing could determine whether they remain small operators or move into more productive and commercially viable activities.
The programme also plans to establish incubation centres offering training in mineral exploration, mining, processing, value addition and mineral trading.
Mentorship and advisory services are also expected to form part of the programme. The focus on women comes as evidence shows they are already deeply involved in Tanzania’s mining economy.
A 2024 study by the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO), conducted in collaboration with the Tanzania Women Miners Association (TAWOMA), involving 992 women in Shinyanga, Geita, Mara and Simiyu, found that more than 80 percent were actively participating in different parts of the mining value chain.
MBT is seeking to build on that participation by improving women’s access to licences, finance, technology, skills and markets.
The broader objective is to increase participation not only in mineral extraction but also in processing, value addition, provision of mining-related services and mineral trading.
The programme’s approach reflects a broader shift towards increasing the economic value generated within the country from Tanzania’s mineral resources.
For young people and women, this could mean opportunities beyond working at mine sites, including businesses supplying equipment and services, mineral processing and trading.
For small-scale miners, access to geological information, modern equipment and finance could help address some of the constraints that limit productivity.
The message from the Geita exhibition is therefore increasingly focused on a practical question: how can the millions of Tanzanians already connected to the mining sector gain greater economic value from their participation?
The MBT programme is designed to address that question by expanding opportunities across the mining value chain and bringing more young people, women and people with disabilities into activities that extend from exploration and extraction to processing, value addition and trade.