From bank halls to streets: How the CRDB Bank Foundation is reshaping banking landscape

“I once wanted to open a bank account, but the number of doc­uments I was required to sub­mit discouraged me. I gave up on the idea. But now, I see that you (CRDB Bank) have simpli­fied procedures. With this new approach, you will reach many of us who didn’t previously meet the requirements,” says Lucas Kapimpiti, a resident of Ikola vil­lage in Tanganyika District, Rukwa Region.

Ikola village lies over 70 kilometers from Mpanda, the Rukwa region­al headquarters where Kapimpiti would have needed to go to open a bank account upon complying with all the necessary requirements.

To complete the process, he would have had to suspend all his daily activities just to secure a bank account for money custody and con­duct other crucial transactions for both personal use and his dried fish business.

Kapimpiti’s challenges mir­ror those of Rosemary Igondi, a small entrepreneur running a wom­en’s hair salon in Chamwino, Dodo­ma Region. Today, those protracted challenges are now done and dust­ed after signing up with the IMBE­JU programme under CRDB Bank Foundation (CBF).

Kapimpiti benefited from the “Imbeju Jiwezeshe” campaign run by the foundation, while Rosemary was supported through an entrepre­neurship and financial literacy train­ing programme for future young mothers co-hosted with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

At 21, Rosemary says: “I had never set foot in a bank even though I have been raising my five-year-old son. I started fending for myself after get­ting pregnant in Form Three. At that time, I had no documents to open a bank account, so I just had to keep on hustling.”

Neither Rosemary nor her 37 fellow participants had a bank account. So, the training organizers gave them a hands-on experience by taking them to the CRDB Cham­wino branch, where they witnessed real banking operations and were encouraged to start using banking services to boost their small busi­nesses.

“19 participants opened Imbeju Accounts, and those without nation­al IDs were assisted by the bank in collaboration with NIDA to fill out the necessary forms. They were so happy. It was captivating to see them enter a bank for the first time in their lives,” says Lolabona Lema, Empow­erment Officer for the Imbeju Pro­gramme – CRDB Bank Foundation.

After opening her Imbeju account, Rosemary had never bothered going to the bank again only after hearing of the circulating news that multiple attachments were needed to start access the account.

“I used piggy banks for savings or through wallet. Sometimes I would give it to someone I trusted most to keep it for me. But start­ing today, I’ll be depositing all my savings at the bank. I’m happy to have a bank account now with the CRDB Bank—I feel like a govern­ment employee,” she says, laughing with uncontainable joy.

Learning in a friendly environment

CRDB Bank Foundation (CBF) Managing Director, Tully Esther Mwambapa says many Tanzanians lack financial literacy, which is why the foundation has made it a priority to reach people where they are and educate them.

“Life poses multitude challenges that deny people the opportunity to learn essential things like entre­preneurship and financial literacy. Young people facing these challeng­es in such tender age often focus on survival and never make it to a bank. That’s why we go to them,” Tully Esther explains.

She adds that these challenges affect young people found in mar­kets, mines, lakes, or doing small-scale businesses—places where peo­ple earn an honest living but often lack the time or access to open a bank account due to their busy schedules.

Despite the small size of their businesses, women, youth, and spe­cial groups targeted by the CRDB Bank still have the potential to grow economically if they receive proper training and formalize their ven­tures.

“Everyday challenges inspire us to find ways to overcome them. Many Tanzanians don’t use banking ser­vices—not because they are unqual­ified, but because they lack accurate information. CRDB Bank has decid­ed to stop waiting for people to come to us. Through our Foundation, we hit the streets and have them served. This method makes it easier for peo­ple to learn in their own communities, surrounded by familiar faces. They understand better and make informed decisions,” emphasizes Tul­ly Esther.

She notes that educating the public on financial literacy and entrepre­neurship is a huge task, so the Foun­dation partners with stakeholders who share similar visions to reach as many people as possible.

To support this initiative, Tully Esther mentions partnerships with both local and international entities such as the Ministry of Communi­ty Development, Gender, Women, Children and Special Groups, TAMI­SEMI, the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Employment and Persons with Dis­abilities, UNFPA, the UN Develop­ment Programme (UNDP), the Com­mission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), the ICT Commission (ICTC), and women’s empowerment groups like Buta Vicoba Endelevu, Mbweni Women (MBWE) Group, and Bunju Women (BWE) Group.

“There are many opportunities that entrepreneurs can tap from. These opportunities exist locally, regionally, and even nationally. We also know Africa now has a free trade area, and Tanzanians should seize those oppor­tunities. Our partners help us unlock these opportunities from the grass­roots level to beyond our national borders,” says Tully Esther.

IMBEJU Jiwezeshe – From Bank Halls to Streets

Fadhil Bushagama, Head of Start­ups and Inclusive Growth at CRDB Bank Foundation says that they have made significant efforts to reach every Tanzanian and equip them with the knowledge they need to grow their businesses and manage their financ­es.

To achieve this, the Foundation is conducting training in various regions through its experts, who travel exten­sively. This outreach campaign began in August 2024 in the Southern High­lands, Southern Zone, Dar es Salaam Zone, and currently the Lake Zone.

“In the beginning, we offered training in dedicated venues, but we realized we needed to directly hit the streets to reach more unbanked people. Now, we meet them at mar­kets or bus stands. We speak to them one-on-one at their workplaces. This makes it easier for them to make decisions because they are learning while serving their customers,” says Bushagama, citing Lucas Kapimpiti as an example.

He adds that this new approach gives people who can’t afford to leave their businesses—even briefly—an opportunity to learn and start plan­ning for growth.

“People are always in a rush. In small businesses, often one person does everything. They can’t step away even for two minutes. For example, a street vendor or commercial motor­cycle operator can’t leave their work for a one-or two-hour seminar. If they do, they miss out on income. So we meet them where they are, help them open an account, and they can visit the branch later to apply for start-up capital,” he explains.

To boost public participation in economic activities, the CBF offers entrepreneurship training to help participants grow their businesses, expand into other sectors, or scale up within their existing field.

Additionally, the Foundation pro­vides financial literacy training to help budding entrepreneurs manage their income—for personal needs, business development, and handling financial challenges.

After this training, those ready can open an Imbeju Account, mark­ing the beginning of having formal financial records. Once they complete these steps, they can apply for seed capital starting from Sh 200 million up to Sh 10 million for women. The limit can go beyond Sh 30 million for youth-led innovative projects certi­fied by COSTECH or ICTC as benefi­cial to the community.

Since launching the Programme in 2023, the CBF has successfully provided financial literacy and entre­preneurship training to over 800,000 women and youth across the country, and issued approximately Sh 20 bil­lion in seed capital.

This support has been implement­ed through several sub-programmes under Imbeju, including Imbeju Ng’ara for women, Imbeju Buni for youth start-ups, and Imbeju Kilimo for small-scale farmers.