President Samia Suluhu Hassan has launched Tanzania’s development blueprint, Vision 2050, targeting to achieve upper middle-income status by harnessing land, natural resources, demographic dividend and technology.

 

Manufacturing, digital economy, climate adaptation and youth empowerment sit at the core of the plan, and the East African nation expects to become a regional industrial hub, with a strong and competitive economy, in the next 25 years.

Implementation is set to start on July 1, 2026.

Tanzania aims to use the plan to grow GDP from $85.98 billion in 2025 to $1 trillion by 2050.

President Samia while launching the blueprint in the capital Dodoma, said the plan is expected to equip about 70 percent of Tanzanian citizens with digital skills with over 80 percent of government services delivered online.

Other key economic sectors for development envisaged for implementation are political cohesion that would promote peace, unity, and strict leadership codes to drive an inclusive economy.“We are laying the foundation stone for the future of our people since Tanzania is rich in land and natural resources. Let us go and implement this vision in action, not just in words,” President Samia said.

She then directed the Law Reform Commission, in collaboration with the Attorney-General’s Office, to begin drafting legal reform proposals that will facilitate effective implementation of the Vision 2050.

Planning and Investment minister, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, said the GDP per capita is expected to rise from the current $1,200 to $7,000 in the next 25 years.

Officials target to raise the life expectancy for Tanzanians from the current 68 years to 75 years.

Drafting of Vision 2050 began in April 2023, with a review this year. Vision 2025 focused mostly on infrastructure development.

Tanzania’s population is expected to double from 61 million to about 140 million by 2050, with over half of the population living in urban areas.

At the launch, private sector representative industrialist Rostam Aziz criticised the government for seeking foreign firms to execute its strategic, big-ticket projects.

Mr Aziz noted that large amounts of money had been paid out to foreign firms, mostly Chinese, to implement projects and pushed for local contractors to get some of those jobs to help empower the local population.“Tanzania excels in drafting plans, but we must fix our implementation. Let’s support Tanzanian businesses, especially in access to capital,” he said.

He further proposed the establishment of a $100 million annual Talent Development Fund to sponsor 1,000 Tanzanian youth in critical fields, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science and engineering.

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