This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
Located on a stretch of Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial capital, Silicon Dar is home to major telecoms, including Tigo, Vodacom, and Airtel Tanzania, as well as state-run institutions such as the Commission for Science and Technology Tanzania (Costech) and the University of Dar es Salaam College of ICT.
According to Jumanne Mtambalike, chief executive of Sahara Ventures, a Dar es Salaam-based technology and investment consultancy, the tech hub has emerged 'without the inconvenience of having to pool massive resources.'
From just two innovation hubs and one business incubator in 2011, the area now boasts around a dozen innovation hubs, offering opportunities and resources to hundreds of youth entrepreneurs.
One such initiative is the Data for Local Impact Innovation Challenge (DLIIC), which supports local developers in finding solutions for data gaps in HIV/Aids, global health, gender, and economic growth. AfyaBox, a mobile application that provides information on healthcare services, received a $20,000 grant from DLIIC in March 2017.
Telecoms are also involved in the ecosystem through programs such as Vodacom Tanzania's 'Code like a girl' coding app, which targets young women aged 14-18 years, and Tigo's cloud storage app, Tigo Backup.
Despite the progress made, stakeholders say multiple players and more work are needed to make a positive impact on the surrounding communities and turn a 'smart city' idea into a reality.
Barriers such as electrical outages, poor infrastructure, and the absence of transport links limit the opportunities available. However, Costech director-general Dr Amos Nungu has pledged to support the smart city concept, stating that 'all prerequisite conditions to support the growth of technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation ecosystem are coming into being.'
