Building Bridges: Tanzania’s Diaspora Networks — Progress, Gaps, and What Comes Next

By Peter Lazaro

Countries that professionalise diaspora engagement unlock larger and more stable flows of finance, skills, and know-how. Tanzania has laid important foundations. The challenge now is execution. Evidence from Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, and the Philippines shows clearly what works, what fails, and where Tanzania must move quickly if it is to capture the full diaspora dividend.

The global case for diaspora networks

Migrants generate an estimated 9.4 percent of global GDP, a reminder that diaspora communities are not marginal actors but a core part of the global economy. Countries with formal diaspora engagement policies receive, on average, three times more remittances than those without. This is not correlation alone. Structured engagement lowers friction, builds trust, and channels private flows into productive uses.

Governments have responded accordingly. More than 70 percent of countries now maintain dedicated diaspora or emigration institutions, while over 200,000 diaspora organisations operate globally. Together, they form an existing infrastructure for investment, skills transfer, and policy dialogue. The question for Tanzania is no longer whether to engage the diaspora, but how effectively.

What Tanzania has put in place so far

Tanzania is not starting from zero. Since 2010, the Diaspora Engagement and Opportunities Department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation has coordinated policy development, diaspora databases, skills matching, and labour mobility initiatives. Zanzibar’s own diaspora policy, published in June 2020, signals growing sub-national momentum and policy ownership.

Digital foundations are also emerging. The Diaspora Digital Hub provides a central portal for registration and services, while NIDA’s rollout of diaspora national ID enrolment through embassies strengthens identity assurance and enables skills mapping at scale. These systems matter because effective engagement depends on reliable data, not ad hoc outreach.

On the financial side, Tanzania opened safer and more formal investment channels in August 2022, allowing Tanzanian diaspora and EAC and SADC residents to purchase Treasury bills and bonds directly. This expanded access to low-risk, transparent domestic instruments and signalled seriousness about integrating diaspora capital into national financing.

Legal reforms are also underway. Proposed mid-2024 amendments introduce a Diaspora Special Status and a Diaspora Tanzanite Card, aimed at easing entry and stay while enabling derivative land rights. While carefully aligned with existing land regimes, these reforms reflect recognition that property-linked investment is a major diaspora interest.

Remittance policy is becoming more explicit. Formal inflows reached about US$747 million in 2023, roughly 0.9 percent of GDP, well below regional peers. Government has set a target to double this figure to US$1.5 billion by 2028, supported by digitised registration, improved financial access, and expanded overseas employment pathways.

The private sector has begun to respond. Banks are rolling out diaspora-specific products, such as Absa’s Mzawa Account, which bundles multi-currency services, mortgages, and insurance. These offerings reduce friction and help convert savings abroad into assets at home.

What other countries show, and why it matters

International experience reinforces a consistent lesson: outcomes depend on coordination, institutions, and execution.

Ghana and The Gambia demonstrate the power of high-level political coordination and symbolism. Ghana’s Office of Diaspora Affairs and The Gambia’s framing of the diaspora as an “Eighth Region” have helped crowd in investment and structured skills partnerships.

Ireland illustrates what sustained, budget-anchored engagement looks like. Its whole-of-government Diaspora Strategy (2020–2025), regular consultations, and Emigrant Support Programme tie vision directly to funding and measurable outcomes.

The Philippines shows how scale can be matched with efficiency. With remittances reaching US$38.3 billion in 2024, about 8.3 percent of GDP, the country channels flows through dedicated institutions, reintegration finance, and digital rails that reduce costs and push formalisation.

Kenya demonstrates an ecosystem approach. Record remittances of roughly US$4.9 billion in 2024, combined with a formal diaspora investment strategy for 2025–2030, venture catalysts, and dedicated state capacity, show how countries can move beyond remittances into enterprise and innovation.

What Tanzania should prioritise next

The next phase requires consolidation and precision. Tanzania needs a unified, budgeted national diaspora strategy, aligning mainland and Zanzibar initiatives under a single framework. Annual scorecards should track registrations, remittance costs by corridor, investments processed, and skills placements, with public reporting to enforce accountability.

Remittances alone are not enough. Tanzania should develop a portfolio of diaspora capital instruments, including small-ticket dual-currency diaspora bonds with low minimums, co-investment windows with commercial banks for SME upgrading, and diaspora angel or co-investment platforms for ICT and processing sectors. International experience shows that diversified instruments outperform single flagship funds.

Skills transfer must be institutionalised. A strengthened Diaspora Skills Registry 2.0, coupled with funding for around 100 short-term return fellowships each year, could target hospitals, TVET institutions, MSME standards, and GovTech. Evidence from IOM and ODI emphasises segmentation by expertise and continuous two-way consultation to sustain engagement.

Reducing friction in money flows is critical. Studies by UNCDF show Tanzania’s remittance performance lags partly due to market concentration and limited interoperability. Priorities include licensing more payment service providers, leveraging TIPS and mobile money for cross-border rails, and publishing a Remittance Price Index to push fees toward the SDG target of 3 percent.

The proposed Tanzanite Card should evolve into a full investment journey pass. Special status must be paired with a one-stop Diaspora Investment Desk that pre-clears company registration, tax identification, land derivative rights, building permits, and utilities, supported by service-level agreements and case ownership. Kenya and Ireland offer practical lessons in this facilitation approach.

What to rethink, and smarter alternatives

Some assumptions need revisiting. A special status card alone will not unlock investment without integrated banking, titling, dispute resolution, and aftercare. Linking the card to a concierge-style investment desk with time-bound approvals and escalation channels would convert symbolism into results.

Doubling remittances by simply sending more workers abroad is insufficient. Headcount matters, but formal volumes respond more strongly to cost, convenience, and trust. Opening corridors to competition, enabling interoperable instant payments, and running diaspora-focused financial literacy campaigns would have greater impact.

Large, single diaspora funds often struggle with governance and pipeline risk. A portfolio approach, combining retail bonds, co-investment, guarantees, and angel platforms, is more resilient and more attractive to private capital.

Publishing a policy is not the same as delivering outcomes. Impact comes from budgets, KPIs, and public reporting. A rolling three-year action plan with quarterly dashboards, overseen by an independent Diaspora Advisory Council, would keep implementation on track.

By the numbers

Formal remittances reached US$747 million in 2023, about 0.9 percent of GDP.

The public target is US$1.5 billion annually by 2028.

Countries with dedicated diaspora policies average a threefold uplift in remittance flows.

Migrants generate an estimated 9.4 percent of global GDP.

The bottom line

Tanzania has built credible foundations: a dedicated unit, digital registration systems, access to public debt instruments, legal reforms for special status, and ambitious remittance targets. To convert these into outsized results, the next phase must focus relentlessly on execution quality. Interoperable payment rails, diversified and de-risked investment instruments, skills programmes with measurable outputs, and transparent performance reporting are the levers that matter. Countries that have moved fastest on these fronts are already capturing the “three-times remittance” advantage and the broader development dividends that follow.