The government is stepping up efforts to expand investment and employment opportunities for young Tanzanians, with special economic zones (SEZs) being positioned as key platforms for youth participation in the economy.
The emphasis emerged on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, when Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Youth Development, Dr Joel Arthur Nanauka, visited the Benjamin William Mkapa Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
During the visit, Dr Nanauka toured Tanzania Tooku Garment and Afriport, where he observed how investments within the zone are creating employment and opening up opportunities for young people.
The visit also focused on measures to help young entrepreneurs overcome some of the challenges they face when starting and expanding businesses.
The authority managing the SEZ briefed the minister on the Youth Export Centre, an initiative aimed at supporting young investors and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with information, guidance and coordination services needed to establish and grow their businesses.
The centre is operated in collaboration with NEXA and is intended to help emerging businesses navigate investment and export opportunities while improving their prospects for sustainable growth.
The authority also outlined areas that have been set aside within SEZs for youth-led investments, reflecting the government’s efforts to give young people greater access to investment opportunities and productive economic activities.
The initiative could provide a platform for young Tanzanians not only to seek employment but also to become investors, entrepreneurs and suppliers within the country’s expanding industrial economy.
The government has increasingly placed youth empowerment at the centre of its economic agenda, seeking to link investment and industrial growth with job creation and opportunities for young people.
The minister’s visit therefore underscored the need to ensure that large-scale investments translate into tangible benefits for citizens, particularly through decent jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and greater participation of local businesses in industrial value chains.