We are very proud to showcase today the results of our recent years’ work in facilitating and bringing more finance to the country for the growth of micro, small, medium-sized, and corporate enterprises.

A conducive business environment is like the air for businesses to thrive, and I would say that finance is the blood. The European Union has provided a 360-degree approach to investments in Tanzania, from supporting the Blueprint regulatory reform agenda, enhancing Domestic Resources Mobilisation, to strengthening Capital Markets and green and alternative finance, as well as attracting international finance. Today, however, we will be focusing on finance, and I trust you are all interested in learning more about how to grow with European Union finance by tapping into the European Union Global Gateway financing tools.

The Global Gateway is the European Union’s response to global challenges in obtaining quality finance and tackling the most pressing global issues, from fighting climate change to improving health systems and boosting competitiveness and security of global supply chains. Today, we will present several Global Gateway financing opportunities that cover almost the entire spectrum of financial products, from grants to debt, equity, and guarantees.

Today’s event is a follow-up to the EU Tanzania Business Forum that we organized in February 2023, which gathered about 600 businesses from the EU and Tanzania over two days. It was during this event that Team Europe announced close to 1 billion euros (2.5 trillion Tanzanian Shillings) in investments to Tanzania; many of you asked us for more information and how to tap into that billion.

This is therefore a response to your request, and as Team Europe, we pride ourselves on being a reliable partner in access to finance for all segments of the entrepreneurial sector, from micro-enterprises and start-ups to SMEs, mid-caps, and corporate enterprises, as shown on the agenda as well. For all means also women and youth.

On this aspect, we are particularly proud of supporting and facilitating access to finance for women entrepreneurs, who, we know, face more and different challenges.

Tomorrow, in the framework of our flagship program “Breaking the Glass Ceiling,” this discussion will continue, bringing together many stakeholders working on women's economic empowerment and access to finance to analyze how to improve this aspect and how to complement our respective efforts with different actors—government, private sector, development partners, and beneficiaries.

We will deliver this event in the Team Europe format, meaning with the participation of some of the European Union Development Financial Institutions, who are our privileged partners in deploying investment finance in the country; some, like FMO or DEG, will be joining us online, and others, like the European Investment Bank, are here in person, together with several local financial partners. I invite you to take advantage of their presence here today to pose your burning questions about finance.

I hope this will not be a one-way communication event; we also want to learn from you about how to better design our financing programs. I invite you to engage with our presenters, ask a lot of questions, and share your challenges or preferences in terms of finance.