Investing in Social Innovation and Technology in Tanzania

Investing in Social Innovation and Technology in Tanzania • Conclusion
Students from Tanzania’s
Allied Health Universities
take part in the Mawazo
Challenge.
CONCLUSION
TANZANIA BORA INITIATIVE
This report aims to capture what we have
learned as a programme through five years
of implementation, with many notable
successes and more than a few challenges
along the way. We have sought to use our insights to
inform practical recommendations in order for others
to build on what we have learned.
Many of the recommendations put forward in this
paper may seem obvious but applying them in
practice is likely to be complex. Action is required
at multiple levels and stages simultaneously, such
as funding to catalyse innovations and ecosystembuilding
activities that continue to stimulate and
build a pipeline of future innovations and innovators.
Learning needs to be prioritised and investment is
required to generate data and evidence on what works
to overcome the barriers to social innovation and to
scale up the advances that have been made so far.
The opportunity for stimulating the innovation
landscape in Tanzania is beginning to attract several
of the most reputable global funders and investors.
However, innovation is a cross-cutting issue that does
not always fit neatly into a donor programme or fund,
and as such can result in fragmented approaches and
responses. HDIF calls for more collaboration between
partners and a culture of openness to support increased
sharing of information and lessons learned – including
lessons about failure – for others to learn from.
HDIF and its grantees have successfully catalysed
new social innovations and increased
access to basic services for men,
women and children across Tanzania;
this has only been achieved with the
support and collaborative efforts of
many international and local partners
and stakeholders. For these achievements to endure,
we urge funders, potential investors, and policy
makers to consider our recommendations and act
upon them.
HDIF comes to an end in 2021. In the meantime, the
programme will continue to play a role in building the
evidence base on innovation in Tanzania, and leverage
the existing network to share lessons with practitioners
and partners in pursuit of our common objectives.
‘Action is required
at multiple levels
and stages.’
37