RegAlert

Tanzania: lending & credit regulation — 2026-08

Regulated

Tanzania: Microfinance Act 2018 regulates lending via BoT Tier 2/3 licensing

Frozen snapshot — the guide as it stood at the end of 2026-08. See the live guide for the current state.

Lending is regulated under the Microfinance Act 2018, enforced by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT). The framework divides providers into tiers, with Tier 2 covering non-deposit-taking lenders (including digital lenders) and Tier 3 covering SACCOS. Strict capital, governance, and digital platform requirements apply.

Which licence do you need?

Your activityRequirementCapitalTimelineAuthority
Consumer lendingLicenceTier 2 Microfinance Service Provider[1][2][3]

Requires no-objection letter for digital platforms

TZS 20,000,000—Bank of Tanzania
SME / commercial lendingLicenceTier 2 Microfinance Service Provider[3]

Same tier as consumer; capital floor applies

TZS 20,000,000—Bank of Tanzania
MicrofinanceLicenceTier 2 or Tier 3 Provider[4][5]

Tier 2 for non-deposit; Tier 3 for SACCOS

TZS 20,000,000—Bank of Tanzania
Buy-now-pay-laterLicenceTier 2 Microfinance Service Provider[1]

Treated as digital lending under Tier 2

TZS 20,000,000—Bank of Tanzania
P2P lending platformLicenceTier 2 Microfinance Service Provider[2]

Digital platform requires no-objection letter

TZS 20,000,000—Bank of Tanzania
Credit bureau / scoringLicenceCredit Reference Bureau

CRBs require specific BoT licensing

——Bank of Tanzania
Debt collectionUncertainverify with regulator

Regulation of third-party collectors unclear

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New — what changed recently

  • 2025-01-01Zanzibar Microfinance Service Regulations, 2025 — Established comprehensive framework for Tier 3 SACCOS in Zanzibar with tiered licensing.[5]
  • 2024-01-01Guidance Note on Digital Lenders Under Tier 2 — Mandated no-objection letters and strict operational criteria for digital lending platforms.[1][2]
  • 2023-01-01Banking and Financial Institutions (Development Finance) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 — Raised application fees and defined director roles for development finance institutions.[6]

Market-entry checklist

  1. 1Register as Tier 2 MFS ProviderObtain BoT license with minimum TZS 20m capital and submit audited financials.
  2. 2Secure Digital Platform ApprovalNotify BoT within 14 days and obtain no-objection letter for digital lending within 30 days.
  3. 3Register with ODPCComply with Personal Data Protection Act 2022 for customer data handling.
  4. 4Submit Credit DataReport monthly credit data to BoT Credit Reference Databank as required.

Sources

  1. Guidance Note on Digital Lenders Under Tier 2 Microfinance Service Providers, 2024
  2. Guidance Note on Digital Lenders Under Tier 2 Microfinance Service Providers, 2024
  3. Tier 2 Microfinance Service Providers (Individual Money Lenders) · 2020-03-17
  4. The Microfinance Act 2018
  5. Zanzibar Microfinance Service (Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies) Regulations, 2025 · 2025-06-13
  6. Banking and Financial Institutions (Development Finance) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 · 2023-07-14