Displaying items by tag: Regulatory

Digital technology has emerged as an important driver of innovation, competitiveness and growth in microfinance. By leveraging the nearly ubiquitous growth of mobile phones, digitization can reduce cost, increase efficiency and allow financial service providers to reach new clients.

In December 2018, the parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania enacted a Microfinance Act which seeks to clarify the framework under which microfinance institutions are governed, regulated, and operate. The Act provides for licensing, regulation and supervision of a highly segmented microfinance sector in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. It concretized a commitment made by the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to transform the microfinance sector through better integration and regulation. This was to be realized through the National Microfinance Policy 2000 (NMP 2000), however the implementation of the policy was unsuccessful, leading to its revision in 2017. The 2018 Microfinance Act was enacted “in order to operationalize NMP 2017” whose main objective was to create an enabling environment for the microfinance sub sector to contribute to poverty reduction.