Development Cooperation

In the past 10 years Belgium was the 14th bilateral donor to Tanzania  and its official development aid fluctuated around € 13 million per year (based on average official development aid in the period 2013-2022 – OECD DAC).  

The direct bilateral governmental aid is implemented by ENABEL, the Belgian development agency. ENABEL is completing the implementation of the water and sanitation project in the Kigoma region with a total value of 12 million euro. The implementation of the new bilateral programme “Wezesha binti”, worth € 25 million for the period 2023-2028, started in 2024. This new programme aims at empowering girls and young women in targeted districts of Kigoma region through secondary education, skills development, entrepreneurship and the creation of a protective and gender equal environment. In all its projects ENABEL cooperates closely with the local government and the relevant line ministries. 

The indirect aid in Tanzania is mainly implemented by ten non-governmental organizations with a different thematic and geographical focus.  The organizations work together in Tanzania under the umbrella of a Joint Strategic Framework. The organizations TRIAS, Iles de Paix and Rikolto are based in Arusha and focus mainly on agriculture, entrepreneurship and rural development. In the health sector, Light for the World focuses on children with a visual impairment, the Belgian Red Cross works on blood donation, water and sanitation, and first aid training, and Apopo works on tuberculosis detection with rat technology. In the education sector, Via Don Bosco provides vocational training, whereas Plan International focuses on empowering girls. IPIS and Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) work on improving natural resource governance. All these organizations cooperate closely with a wide variety ofTanzanian organizations. These organizations receive core funding for five years (2022-2026) with a total budget of €18,7 million euros. 

Academic cooperation mainly takes place via VLIR-UOS, an umbrella organization of universities in Flanders. VLIR-UOS offers scholarships and support for research projects. VLIR-UOS also facilitates university cooperation between Belgian and Tanzanian Universities. Important partners of VLIR-UOS are Mzumbe University, NMAIST and Ardhi University.   

Through calls for proposals, Belgium is also supporting civil society in their role as actor of sustainable development and vector of human rights (freedom of expression and association), democracy and meaningful participation. 

Via the Trade for Development Centre, the Business Partnership Facility managed by the King Baudouin Foundation and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), Belgium also supports the private sector, respectively through trainings, projects and investments or loans. Under the Business Partnership Facility, Belgium supports projects on solar-powered recycling (IdFabric), on organic fertilizer production for sustainable avocado agriculture (Guavay Company Limited), on organic honey for export (Third Man and Upendo Honey) and on sustainable cosmetics (Mrembo Naturals cosmetics). In Tanzania, BIO invests in various sector such as renewable energy, agro-industry, microfinance, through regional funds or direct investments in companies (notably in East Africa Food and ASA Tanzania).   

Belgium is a member of and contributes to many multilateral organizations (European Union, United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund) who are active in Tanzania. Belgium is traditionally a relatively large provider of core, non-earmarked funding. Under its climate financing, Belgium supports a project of UNHCR and WFP (€4 million for the period 2023-2025) which aims at improving climate resilience in refugee hosting districts as well as the deployment of the Local Climate Adaptive Living facility managed by UNCDF to the coastal region (€4 million for the period 2023-2027). This latest project is part of the Team Europe initiative Blue Economy and is also co-financed by the European Union.