Arusha — Known globally as Tanzania’s tourism hub and the gateway to the Serengeti, Arusha presents a stark contrast between the formal wealth of the safari industry and the precarious reality of its youth.
During a youth dialogue recorded on July 5, 2026, and published on August 3, 16 young men and women gathered at the Impala roundabout public garden in the Kijenge ward to discuss their aspirations and the hurdles they face.
The session was the eleventh episode of the Dira Mtaani: Vijana Wanasemaje programme, organised by The Chanzo and Twaweza East Africa.
The conversation revealed a generation that is fiercely independent, deeply entrepreneurial, and increasingly frustrated by a system that treats their hustle as a crime.
While the tourism sector generates billions for the national economy, the youth on the streets are carving out their own economic paths, demanding dignity and space to operate.
Criminalisation
A dominant theme of the dialogue was the relentless harassment of street vendors, colloquially known as machinga, by municipal enforcement officers, or mgambo. Despite ongoing national debates about the formalisation of street vending, the reality on the ground in Arusha remains hostile.
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“We are outside as machinga, and we are arrested constantly,” explained Lazaro Maliaki, a young vendor from the Terat ward. “We don’t understand where we are going wrong. We can’t stay in places where there is no circulation of money. We have to follow the people, but when we do, we are arrested.”
The youth detailed how their goods are routinely confiscated and held for up to a week, plunging them into debt and destroying their fragile capital.
“You cannot treat me like a criminal just because I am a machinga,” one participant argued passionately. “If we are not allowed in the main market during the day, let us operate in the evening when the market is closed. We can survive on those two or three hours.”
This criminalisation of informal work not only destroys livelihoods but also pushes vulnerable youth toward despair. Participants drew a direct line between the harassment of vendors and the rising rates of substance abuse and petty crime in the city.
Mwamini Msangi, a young entrepreneur from the Wanasebezi market, put it plainly: “In our streets, you find youth who have missed those opportunities. They have entered drugs, they drink gongo, or they have gone into theft. Those of us who are fighting are a minority.”
She added, however, that the majority of youth she knows are determined to find a way forward regardless.
Redefining success
Despite these systemic barriers, the youth of Arusha are refusing to play the role of victims. They are actively redefining what success looks like, challenging the outdated narrative that a university degree guarantees formal employment.
“Education should not make a youth think that after getting a degree, the only option is to be employed,” said one participant who started selling juice with a capital of Sh5,000 and now runs a small restaurant. “Education should be a key to give you positive ideas to manage yourself. It is just a way to remove ignorance.”
This pivot from seeking employment to creating it is evident across the city. Young graduates are entering the tourism sector as freelance guides, starting bakeries, and running small-scale logistics operations. They are demonstrating that with as little as Sh10,000, a determined youth can build a sustainable business.
Neema Richard, who works as a breakfast cook at a local hotel, embodies this spirit. “I don’t lower myself by doing this work,” she said firmly. “I wake up in the morning, I cook breakfast, and by evening I am done. The opportunity is you yourself, using your own strength and skills. Do not wait to be employed.”
Tax squeeze
However, the transition from micro-enterprise to sustainable business is severely hindered by a lack of accessible capital and an oppressive tax regime.
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While the government promotes the 10 per cent empowerment loans allocated by Local Government Authorities, the youth in Arusha described the application process as a bureaucratic maze designed to exclude them.
“The requirements are impossible,” noted one young woman who abandoned her loan application. “They tell you to form a group of five people from the same ward who want to do the same business. I live in Sokoni One, my friend lives in Elerai. How are we supposed to meet that condition?”
Even when youth manage to secure capital, the burden of multiple municipal taxes and fees threatens to suffocate their businesses before they can grow.
“Taxes are very high, especially if you want to enter the tourism sector,” explained another participant. “You might have an idea to open a small hotel, but the registration and monthly taxes will kill the business before you even make a profit.”
Interestingly, the youth did not just point fingers at the government; they also demonstrated profound self-awareness regarding their own shortcomings. Several participants highlighted the urgent need for financial literacy, arguing that capital alone is useless without the knowledge to manage it.
“The problem is not getting a loan; the problem is how you use the money,” argued one young man who recently graduated from university. “As Africans, we are raised to just study or do a specific job, but we are not taught how to use opportunities or manage finances. If you give someone a loan without financial education, they will just waste it.”
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This self-diagnosis is supported by a body of research indicating that financial literacy is a critical determinant of success for youth entrepreneurs in Tanzania. The youth are calling for the government and civil society to prioritise practical financial education over simply distributing funds.
Hope in the hustle
As Tanzania navigates the complexities of youth unemployment, with 900,000 young people entering the job market annually but only 50,000 to 60,000 formal jobs being created, the voices from Arusha offer a powerful counter-narrative.
These young people are not waiting to be saved. They are active participants in shaping their local economy, driven by the people who depend on them and their own unyielding ambitions.
Whether dreaming of owning a five-star tourist hotel or becoming the city’s top baker, their resilience is their greatest asset.
“What gives me hope is the way I fight for myself,” concluded one young mother. “I have two children behind me, Miraji and Abdul Latif. I have to fight for them.”
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Shakira, a young entrepreneur from the Sekei ward who dreams of owning a large tourist hotel, captured the spirit of the gathering best. “Despite all the challenges we face, I do not give up,” she said. “I know today I might not have it, but tomorrow I can get it. What is needed is for a person not to give up.”
In Arusha, the hustle is not just a means of survival. It is a profound assertion of dignity and agency in the face of a system that too often looks the other way.
