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frica’s growth has bounced back from the setback of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global conflicts. According to the World Bank Group and Africa Development Bank, Africa’s Gross Domestic Product in 2024 will average 3.8%, compared to the global average of 2.9%. Moreover, 11 out of 20 of the world’s fastest-growing economies are African. Despite this promising outlook and concerted domestic efforts, Africa’s capability to mobilize resources to finance its economic development objectives remains limited. Official development assistance has helped to address the funding gap. However, over the last decade, this assistance has declined due to competing budgetary pressures in donor countries, resulting in the exploration of strategic partnerships with, among others, the private sector and institutional investors.  

Partnerships to improve access to finance are key to accelerating the growth of both public and private sectors in Africa. Current financial limitations are exacerbated by an inaccurate perception of the risks of doing business on the continent. According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme, Africa could save up to $74.5 billion in excess interest and foregone funding if credit companies based their ratings on less subjective assessments.  

However, there are still measures African countries can take to improve their business environments. Tanzania holds the highest credit ratings in East Africa by agencies such as Fitch and Moody’s, which have rated the country B+ and B1, respectively. These ratings reflect concerted efforts by the government of Tanzania to improve its business environment. Accordingly, in September 2024, the US International Development Finance Corporation, in partnership with Citigroup, signed a loan agreement with Tanzania’s CRDB Bank amounting to $320 million for on-lending to 4,500 small and medium-sized enterprises in Tanzania and Burundi.  

Furthermore, Africa needs significant investments in infrastructure development. Tanzania has made significant strides in regional connectivity, including starting to operationalize the new electric standard-gauge railway that will connect to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Tanzania has also enhanced the availability of affordable electricity for regional power pools, particularly after the operationalization of the 2,115-megawatt Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant.  

With Africa’s young population, sustainable development requires strategic partnerships to also focus on initiatives that create jobs in labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture. By leveraging initiatives such as the United States Agency for International Development’s Feed the Future program, Tanzania has been able to develop programs that have facilitated private investments worth over $1.3 billion and positively impacted more than 900,000 smallholder farmers. Having achieved agricultural self-sufficiency over the past decade, Tanzania is now exporting food to neighboring countries and the rest of the world, including the United States, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.  Given that the agricultural sector employs a large portion of the Tanzanian workforce, its successful integration into regional and global supply chains by leveraging public-private collaboration is crucial to driving inclusive growth and financial independence.