Innovation must deliver jobs, better services: Stakeholders

The call was made on Friday, August 14, 2026 during the launch of the 12th edition of Innovation Week Tanzania, to be held from August 31 to September 4, 2026, at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam.

To be held under the theme From Aspirations to Transformation: Innovating Tanzania’s Path to Inclusive Prosperity, this year’s edition aims to demonstrate how innovation can become a practical instrument for achieving the country’s long-term development agenda under Development Vision 2050 (Dira 2050).

The Permanent Secretary in the President’s Office – Planning and Investment and Executive Secretary of the National Planning Commission, Dr Tausi Kida, said the event comes at a critical time as Tanzania begins implementing Dira 2050 through long-term five-year and annual development plans.

“This event is taking place at a moment when Tanzania is officially embarking on the implementation of Development Vision 2050 through long-term national development plans,” she said.

Dr Kida said the country’s ambition of becoming a prosperous nation with a $1 trillion economy will require innovation across all sectors. “Innovation is the ability to use knowledge, new ideas, research, technology and creative approaches to develop solutions that improve people’s lives, increase productivity and create economic and social value,” she said.

She added that the vision demands a different way of thinking and implementing development priorities.

“In Dira 2050, innovation is not viewed as a technology issue alone. It is a tool for transforming national aspirations into real outcomes,” she said.

According to Dr Kida, the vision places strong emphasis on research and development, emerging technologies, inclusive systems and innovative enterprises.

It also seeks to create an environment that enables innovators and entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and take them to market.

She said the competitive and inclusive Tanzania envisioned in Dira 2050 will require innovations that solve citizens’ problems, improve public services, raise productivity and create employment and investment opportunities.

“Innovation Week seeks to build a bridge between innovative ideas, research, policy, institutions, capital, markets and technology so that innovation does not remain in laboratories or discussions, but is transformed into products, services and solutions,” she said.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tanzania Resident Representative, Mr Shigeki Komatsubara, said the country must move beyond generating ideas and focus on implementation and scale.

“The task is to move from ideas to implementation, from pilots to scale, and from aspiration to measurable results,” he said.

Mr Komatsubara said success should not be measured by the number of start-ups or ideas produced.

Instead, he said, innovation should be judged by whether it creates productive jobs, strengthens businesses, improves public service delivery, builds resilient communities and expands opportunities for women and young people.

He said achieving that transformation would require stronger collaboration across institutions.

“No single institution can achieve this alone. Government must create an enabling environment, the private sector must bring markets and investment, universities must generate knowledge, development partners must provide catalytic resources, and innovators must bring solutions grounded in reality,” he said.

He urged the innovation ecosystem to focus on three priorities: innovating with purpose, building for scale and collaborating differently.

“Innovation should respond to real development priorities and improve people’s lives. Promising solutions must be connected to policies, markets and financing to move beyond pilots,” he said.

FUNGUO Programme Manager, Mr Joseph Manirakiza, said this year’s edition comes at a time when the country is actively discussing its future development direction.

“We are excited to have senior government leaders participating, including several ministers who will take part in ministerial roundtable discussions and interactive engagements with young people,” he said.

He added that the programme will also feature policy roundtable discussions aimed at allowing participants to question, contribute and help shape how Dira 2050 can be implemented effectively.

From the media perspective, Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) Executive Editor, Mr Mpoki Thompson, said he hopes Innovation Week will encourage Tanzanians to move from being digital consumers to becoming digital creators and producers.

“When you look at TCRA statistics showing that by March 2026 nearly 60 million Tanzanians were connected to the internet, the important question is how we are using that connectivity. Are we using it meaningfully?” he said.

Mr Thompson said many young entrepreneurs and innovators continue to face regulatory barriers that hinder the growth of their businesses.

“We have been publishing opinion pieces in The Citizen where stakeholders discuss how Tanzania can build a more conducive business environment capable of attracting sufficient investment capital,” he said.

He said one of the key questions ahead of Innovation Week is whether Tanzania has created the environment needed to nurture innovators who can scale their solutions and deliver impact across multiple sectors.

“The innovators who succeed will be those who are able to scale their ideas and create impact across sectors that urgently need innovation,” he said.