Dar es Salaam, Sept. 23 -- IMAGINE a Tanzania where farmers, fishers, entrepreneurs and small-scale traders all have easy access to affordable financing, not because the government stretched its budget thin, but because state-owned institutions raised the funds directly from the people through innovative financial instruments.

Recently, the country took a bold step closer to this vision with the launch of the Stawi Bond by Tanzania Commercial Bank (TCB), a state owned bank. This landmark initiative deserves nothing less than applause.

TCB has demonstrated financial ingenuity by shifting from the traditional reliance on government budget allocations and instead, mobilising 150bn/- through a MediumTerm Note Programme, beginning with the S...