WHEN I was invited to be among the contributors and writers of the recently launched Tanzania Vision 2050, I knew it was a great honour. What I did not expect was how profoundly it would change how I see my country and especially, its young people.

I now walk with my eyes wide open. I see opportunities for Tanzanian youth everywhere in our streets, on our shores, in our markets, across our borders, and even in the untapped spaces of our imagination. I am amazed not only at our country’s beauty and strategic position but at just how young we are as a nation.

The power of our numbers
According to the 2022 Census, 42.8 percent of our population is under the age of 15. Add to that those aged 15–35 the national definition of youth who make up 34.5 percent, and you realize that 77.3 percent of our people are under 35. That’s more than three out of every four Tanzanians!

Think about it: in a meeting of 10 people chosen at random from across our country, at least seven would be youth. This is not just a demographic fact it is a development reality. It means our decisions, our investments, and our national strategies must be unapologetically youth-centered if we are to secure a prosperous future.

Our geography is our gift
Tanzania is not just youthful it is strategically positioned. We are the bridge between East and Southern Africa, with eight neighbours many of them landlocked relying on our ports for trade. Our 1,424 km of coastline on the Indian Ocean is a gateway to global markets.

We are home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Zanzibar, and some of the world’s largest and deepest lakes. We have fertile land in multiple climates, giving us year-round agricultural potential. We have tourism, minerals, renewable energy possibilities, and a growing digital economy.

For youth, this geography is not just a matter of pride it’s a map of opportunities:

Trade and logistics: Jobs and businesses linked to shipping, warehousing, cross-border commerce, and supply chains.

Tourism and hospitality: From tour guiding in Serengeti to running eco-lodges in Zanzibar.

Agriculture and agribusiness: Modern farming, aquaculture, food processing for both local and export markets.

Technology and innovation: Creating digital platforms for trade, transport, and tourism.

Fisheries and blue economy: Fish farming, processing, and marine tourism along our lakes and coast.

The urgency of action
Yet, a young population is only a blessing if it is productive. If we do not equip our youth with skills, access to finance, and enabling policies, this demographic dividend can easily become a demographic burden.

It is not enough to say “youth are the leaders of tomorrow.” They are also the innovators of today, the workers of today, the problem-solvers of today. The question is: will we trust them enough to give them the space, the tools, and the platforms to lead now?

A call to the youth
To young Tanzanians:
Your country is not short of opportunities it is waiting for you to claim them. The ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and the upcoming Bagamoyo are not just for international investors they are for you to innovate around. The fertile lands of Iringa, Njombe, and Ruvuma are not just for traditional farming they are your labs for agritech. The breathtaking national parks are not just for foreign tourists they are your stage to tell Tanzania’s story to the world.

We must be bold enough to dream beyond our neighbourhoods, strategic enough to see opportunities in every challenge, and disciplined enough to turn ideas into enterprises.

As Vision 2050 boldly states, Tanzania’s goal is to be a high-income, industrialized, and inclusive nation. That journey will rise or fall on the shoulders of its youth.

My challenge to policymakers, investors, and communities is simple: stop seeing youth as a problem to be solved and start seeing them as the engine to be fuelled.

Tanzania’s youth are not our future they are our present. And if we invest in them wisely today, they will carry us to a tomorrow that even Vision 2050 could not fully imagine.

Annastazia Rugaba is a development enthusiast and one of the contributors to the development and writing of Tanzania’s Vision 2050 through Twaweza East Africa.