Who we are
The FSDT has been established by five government donors: Canada, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark, in close collaboration with the Bank of Tanzania and the Government of Tanzania.

The Trust's supervisory body comprises representatives from each donor country and from the Bank of Tanzania.

The FSDT is headed by the Technical Director Ian Robinson, who is supported by a small team of technical, financial and administrative managers, based in the Trust's office in Dar es Salaam.

We work with organisations and individuals all over the United Republic of Tanzania, and particularly in the rural areas, where the great majority of the country's population live.

What we do
The overall aim of the Trust is to provide greater access for more people to engage with the financial system throughout Tanzania. This objective ties in closely with Mkukuta and the Government's Second Generation Financial Sector Reform Programme. The Trust thus contributes to delivering many of the Government's poverty reduction strategies.

Our focus is entirely on financial sector deepening. We support the three pillars of financial sector development:
- Expanding the scale and viability of financial institutions and related transactions
- Financial sector infrastructure, especially the crucial task of capacity-building
- The policy, legal and regulatory framework.

The Trust takes a market-making approach to its work. This means dedication to making markets work, especially for the poor.

Who will benefit
The FSDT is already working with micro-finance institutions and savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs). Projects include making financial markets work better for MSMEs. We are open to supporting any organisation that contributes to the FSDT's overall objectives. For instance, the FSDT will support commercial banks and other financial institutions seeking to increase outreach by serving and developing new products for microfinance markets and smaller-scale customers. One of the Trust's subsidiary aims is to help join up different components of the financial sector.

Proposals are assessed according to accepted business principles, including commercial sustainability of the organisation seeking support. Projects already underway include the second assessment in Tanzania of demand for financial services and barriers to access throughout the country