The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Infrastructure has been pleased with progress in initiatives undertaken by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Commission in establishing an innovation center for excellence in Dar es Salaam.

During a visit to inspect the development of the innovation center which is part of the 17 centers to be built around the world under the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) plan, the Chairman of the Committee, Suleiman Kakoso, said the center aims to develop the innovations of young people who do not have the financial capacity to do so.

He said that Tanzania is currently building eight more innovation centers in various regions.

However, he said, the committee has advised the government to come up with a special program that will have a guideline for developing innovation and technology.

He urged the ICT Commission to encourage young people to come up with more innovations that will facilitate the development of a cashless economy.

“We encourage the government to ensure that innovators protect and own their innovations. China progressed the same way by young people developing technologies that are today used all over the world,” said Kakoso.

Deputy Minister for Communication and Information Technology Maryprisca Mahundi, said that achieving the digital economy is even possible through empowerment of young innovations.

“The ICT Commission has been tasked with overseeing the operation of these centers and ensuring that the innovations produced not only meet the needs of the local market but also the regional and global ones," she said.

Mahundi asserted that these centers will bring innovations that will help control cybercrime, the establishment of industries to produce electronic devices.

Dr Nkundwe Mwasaga, ICT Commission Director General said that the centers for manufacturing electronic products are within the Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization (TIRDO) and Small Industries Development Organization in Arusha (SIDO-Arusha).

Other centers are to promote digital innovations. These centers are being built in the regions of Lindi, Zanzibar, Tanga, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam.

The goal is to develop the innovations of young people who are 21 million of the population of Tanzania. These centers are for all innovators regardless of their level of education.

Innovations that meet the criteria will be granted a period of eight months to develop their innovations and facilitated to establish tech companies.

Dr Mwasaga said the ICT Commission is implementing the construction of an ICT innovation center of excellence in Dar es Salaam which will be implemented in two phases.

This center will also serve as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s innovation center of excellence.

“This project is part of the resolutions of the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022. The specific objective of implementing this project is to stimulate digital transformation to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and digitalization in the economy,” said Dr Mwasaga.

This project in the first phase which also covers the renovation of the ICT Commission building began in 2023 by the contractor SUMA JKT Construction Company Limited at a cost of 1.56bn/-.

The second phase is under the Digital Tanzania Project (DTP) where 9.88bn/- has been allocated for the renovation of eight innovation centers. So far, 800mn/- has been received and used in the initial stages of drawing up the plans.