Category: The Citizen

Education stakeholders have called for stronger efforts to eliminate violence in schools, saying safe learning environments are essential for improving academic performance and enabling children to realise their full potential.

Speaking during the launch of the Safe Learning Assessment in Tanzania, organised by HakiElimu, stakeholders said fear, intimidation and abuse undermine children’s confidence, participation and overall development.

HakiElimu Head of Programme Godfrey Boniventura said quality education cannot be achieved without protecting children from violence.

“A child’s right to education cannot be separated from the right to safety and protection. Schools should be places of hope, not fear, where children are nurtured and supported to achieve their potential,” he said.

Mr Boniventura called for closer collaboration among the government, teachers, parents, civil society organisations and learners to end violence in schools.

He added that the assessment would provide evidence to support stronger education policies, budgets and programmes that prioritise safe learning.

Presenting the findings, University of Dar es Salaam senior lecturer Dr Hezron Onditi said Tanzania had made progress in reducing violence against children in schools, but significant gaps remain.

He called for stronger child protection systems, including reviewing education laws to align with international standards, strengthening local government capacity and establishing child protection structures in schools, including trained teachers, counselling services and effective reporting mechanisms.

Dr Onditi also warned of emerging risks linked to technology, including cyberbullying, online sexual harassment and unsafe digital behaviour, calling for more research and stronger online safety measures.

National Coordinator of the Safe Schools Programme Dr Theresia Kuiwite urged teachers to follow official disciplinary guidelines and avoid using corporal punishment as a routine disciplinary measure.

She said schools should promote positive discipline and guidance to create safe and supportive learning environments for all children.

There is no such thing as ‘the perfect garden,’ as it changes from one season to the next when different colored flowers bloom, trees change leaf color, food is harvested, and lawns and landscapes continue to evolve with the seasons.

The garden continues to evolve, but most of this can only be seen through individual photographs taken at certain moments in time. Seasonal transformation videos are popular because they allow gardeners to showcase their gardens during each season.

With the help of the latest Seedance 2.5 model, you can build incredible seasonal transformation videos of how your garden has evolved over the growing period of time using photographs of your garden.

This dream tool will allow you to compile all of your photographs from every month into one single video that will showcase the blooming of your flowers, the growth of your vegetables, and the development of the colors in your landscape throughout the year in a single visual story.

Your garden blooming on the screen

Each garden starts with preparing the soil. The garden becomes colorful, full of blossoming flowers, greenery, and alive thanks to your efforts. Showing this process will show the patience and attention needed to grow a perfect garden.

Do not simply give the result; show the process instead. Start from the first days when you were planting things in the soil and gradually reveal fresh sprouts, flourishing plants, and blossoms.

Include events such as:

Plant bed preparation

First emergence of young sprouts

Plants during midseason

Flowering and/or harvest at peak

Finished garden in bloom

Each event is one more chapter of the garden’s story.

Celebrate all the seasons, not only the end result

Gardens constantly change, and each season is unique.

The spring season presents bright blooms and new life. The summer season provides lots of colors and growth. Fall season has warm colors and harvest-ready plants. Winter shows the garden through textures of winter and preparation of the garden for next season.

Don’t think of these as several projects, but rather one cinematic story. Transitions from photos of different seasons show the development of the garden and highlight how important each step of the gardening process is for its final result.

How Seedance 2.5 allows gardens to blossom

With the newest upgrade, Seedance 2.5 integrates prompts, seasonal garden photos, and references into one streamlined creative process. The multimodal input feature ensures that all stages of your garden’s evolution remain connected with a unique visual style.

A more consistent tone allows for natural coloring and lighting across the whole video, whereas longer video generation allows enough time to show an entire season or even a year of growth without haste. Seedance 2.5 can now create a video up to 30 seconds, so you can provide longer and more immersive video for readers.

Garden your story with Dreamina

Step 1: Start Dreamina Seedance 2.5

Visit Dreamina and select the Seedance 2.5 AI Video Generator, which allows direct access to the official tool to generate high-quality AI videos using text, image, and reference prompts.

Step 2: Provide your prompt and references

Give an elaborate prompt that describes your video scene, its subject, motion, camera techniques, and desired visual ambiance. Upload any image or reference materials if you wish to guide the character, product, style, and overall direction of your video.

Sample Prompt: Create a cinematic seasonal garden transformation video depicting the evolution of a backyard from newly planted flower beds to a blooming garden in full blossom. Include garden pictures, smooth camera movements, natural sunlight, gradual season transition, realistic plant growth, and an ambiance that highlights nature and gardening.

Step 3: Generate, edit and save

Click on Generate to allow Dreamina Seedance 2.5 to generate your idea as a cinematic AI video. If necessary, edit your prompt or references to fine-tune the generated video, and save your AI video for sharing in social media, ads, product promotions, etc.

Motivate other gardeners on your path

While people love to see a great garden, they like to see how it was built even more.

Demonstrating your seasonal growth inspires people to start gardening themselves and proves that great landscapes grow through patience and diligence.

Think about including:

Flower bed changes

Vegetable garden evolution

Backyard landscaping

Balcony gardening

Seasonal planting series

Every video serves as inspiration and praise to each gardener’s creativity.

Make a visual garden diary

Many gardeners capture photos through the seasons and don’t even know that they have all the necessary material for making video stories.

Each new season means that you will get closer to the point where you will be able to see your growth, your experiments, and changes during the past years. It will be possible to look back at your previous work and to compare your ideas and successes, and to evaluate the results.

It is also possible to use your videos for sharing among friends, gardening forums, and among clients if you are designing landscapes for others. Rather than just presenting images, you will be showing the entire season story and will prove not only your creativity but your devotion as well.

Each new season will become one more story in your gardening experience.

Dreamina to share your garden’s story

A garden is an expression of patience and imagination along with lots of little instances of nurturing. With the help of converting your garden photography into movies that tell a story through their scenes, Dreamina will enable you to experience each step of the way entertainingly.

Using Seedance 2.5, you can make even your ordinary garden updates look like stunning video storytelling.

Tanzania has said that the implementation of the National Development Vision 2050 will accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by fully integrating them into the country’s short-, medium- and long-term development plans.

The commitment was announced by the Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Professor Kitila Alexander Mkumbo, while addressing the General Debate of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in New York on Monday, July 13, 2026.

Presenting Tanzania’s national statement, Prof Mkumbo said the country had continued to make steady progress towards achieving the SDGs despite global challenges, including climate change, economic shocks and regional conflicts.

He highlighted key achievements, including expanded access to clean water and sanitation, strengthened healthcare services, improved access to quality education, wider electricity coverage, accelerated digital transformation, increased investment in strategic infrastructure, stronger domestic resource mobilisation and enhanced capacity of public institutions.

Prof Mkumbo said Tanzania views the 2030 Agenda as an integral part of its long-term development journey. He explained that the agenda has been aligned with the National Development Vision 2050 through the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP IV), providing a framework for sustaining progress on the SDGs beyond 2030.

He said the country’s priority areas for the coming years include modernising agriculture, advancing industrial development, expanding the blue economy, strengthening resilience to climate change, accelerating digital reforms, investing in human capital and increasing domestic resource mobilisation to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The minister stressed that achieving the 2030 Agenda would require stronger international cooperation, noting that many developing countries continue to face significant financing gaps that constrain investment in development projects.

He called on the international community to fully implement the 2023 United Nations Political Declaration and support the UN Secretary-General’s SDG Stimulus initiative by lowering borrowing costs, addressing debt challenges, expanding access to affordable development finance and accelerating reforms to create a more inclusive global financial system that better serves developing countries.

Tanzania is scheduled to present its Third Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.

Mobility solutions provider GF Group used the 50th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) to showcase its expanding manufacturing capacity and commitment to local industrial development as Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi toured the company’s pavilion.

Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi toured the 50th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) during its official closing ceremony on Monday, July 13, 2026.

The 50th edition of the fair ran from June 28 to July 13, 2026, with Dr Mwinyi serving as the guest of honour at the closing event.

The visit comes as Tanzania seeks to accelerate industrialisation through increased local production, import substitution, and stronger private sector investment in manufacturing.

During the tour, Dr Mwinyi was received by GF Group chairman Mehboob Karmali, director Alijawad Karmali, and Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) director general Dr Latifa Mohammed, who briefed him on the company’s manufacturing operations, product range, and latest innovations.

The company displayed products manufactured in Tanzania, highlighting investments aimed at increasing production capacity, improving quality, and enhancing operational efficiency.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Karmali said the President’s tour reflected growing recognition of the contribution local manufacturers make to the country’s industrialisation agenda.

‘We are honoured to host the President at our pavilion. His visit reaffirms the importance of local manufacturing and encourages continued investment in innovation, quality, and industrial growth,’ he said.

The company said its strategy focuses on expanding domestic manufacturing while investing in technologies that improve productivity and enable it to meet changing consumer demand.

Founded in Tanzania, GF Group has grown into one of the country’s diversified manufacturers, with operations spanning food and beverages, household products, packaging, plastics, logistics, and distribution.

It said its integrated manufacturing model supports value addition, creates jobs, and strengthens domestic supply chains.

The 50th DITF, popularly known as Sabasaba, brought together hundreds of exhibitors from Tanzania and abroad to showcase products, technologies, and investment opportunities.

The event is regarded as one of East Africa’s largest trade exhibitions and serves as a platform for promoting industrial development, trade, and business partnerships.

GF Group said its participation in this year’s exhibition aimed to demonstrate how sustained investment in manufacturing, product innovation, and sustainable business practices can contribute to Tanzania’s long-term economic transformation.

The company also thanked TanTrade for organising the landmark edition of the fair and expressed appreciation to customers, business partners, and visitors for engaging with its exhibition.

As Tanzania advances its industrialisation agenda, manufacturers say sustained investment in production capacity, innovation, and local value addition will remain vital to improving competitiveness, creating jobs, and supporting economic growth.

Tanzania women’s national football team, Twiga Stars, will step up their preparations for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) with a high profile international friendly against Nigeria in Morocco.

The match is scheduled for July 19 in Casablanca, just a week before the continental tournament kicks off on July 26, and is expected to provide the Tanzanian side with a valuable test against one of Africa’s most successful women’s football nations.

According to Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) National Teams Director Almasy Kasongo, the fixture forms part of the team’s final preparations before they begin their Wafcon campaign.

Kasongo said the squad is currently holding a residential training camp in Karatu, Arusha Region, where the technical bench has been working on improving fitness, tactical discipline and team cohesion ahead of the tournament.

The team is scheduled to leave Tanzania on Thursday for Casablanca, where it will complete the final phase of its preparations.

Besides the Nigeria encounter, Twiga Stars could also face either Ghana or Mali in another international friendly before the tournament, depending on final confirmation from the respective football associations.

“We are satisfied with the progress the team has made in Karatu. The players have responded well to the training programme, and they will leave the country on Thursday for Morocco to continue with the final phase of preparations before the tournament begins,” he said.

He said the coaching staff remains optimistic that the team will be ready to compete against some of the continent’s strongest sides.

“We believe the technical bench has prepared the team well, and we expect the players to give their best and compete strongly against some of Africa’s top teams.

The friendly matches will give us an opportunity to assess the team’s readiness and make final adjustments before the competition starts,” he said.

Twiga Stars face a difficult task after being drawn in Group B alongside defending champions South Africa, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.

Tanzania will launch their campaign against South Africa on July 27 at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca before taking on Burkina Faso on July 31 at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Rabat.

Their final group stage match will be against Ivory Coast on August 4 at the same venue.

The tournament, which runs until August 16, will bring together Africa’s top women’s national teams and also serves as an important platform for countries to measure their progress in the rapidly growing women’s game.

For Twiga Stars, the build up matches against Nigeria and potentially Ghana or Mali are expected to provide the competitive edge needed before they embark on their quest to make a strong impression at the continental showpiece.

Tanzania is one of Africa’s major fishing nations, with the fisheries sector supporting around 6 million Tanzanians along the value chain, including 205,559 active fishers.

The government just committed Sh280.59 billion – nearly 65 percent of the entire fisheries development budget to the Kilwa Masoko Fishing Port, which reached 90 percent completion by now, positioning it as the anchor of Tanzania’s entire Blue Economy strategy

Here’s the problem: a world-class fishing port with no cold chain is just an expensive fish market. And that cold chain runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The specific gap

Inadequate cold-chain coverage adds cost and risk to seafood supply chains, and is a key constraint flagged for perishable fisheries export investments. Right now, fish landed at coastal and lake ports is either sold within hours or it rots.

Tanzania’s fishery sector directly provides jobs for about 200,000 people while 4.5 million people approximately 35 percent of rural employment indirectly depend on fishery activities. The post-harvest loss rate is estimated at 25-40 percent.

That’s hundreds of millions of dollars in protein and export revenue lost every year, not for lack of fish, but for lack of cold.

LPG-powered ice plants and blast freezers at landing sites are the single highest-impact infrastructure intervention in this value chain. Unlike grid-dependent refrigeration, LPG ice plants work anywhere – island communities, lake shores, remote coastal villages – with no dependency on Tanzania’s often unreliable electricity supply.

The business model

Fish Cold Chain Infrastructure Operator operates modular LPG-powered Containerized ice plants at strategic fish landing sites. Revenue comes from three sources:

Ice sales to fishers – fishers buy ice by the block or kg before heading out, keeping catch viable during transit. This is a well-proven model across India, Bangladesh, and West Africa.

Cold storage rental – processors and exporters rent chilled/frozen storage capacity by the day or week, bridging the gap between landing and onward transport to Dar es Salaam or export markets.

LPG bulk supply margin – as the operator, you control the LPG supply to each site. You’re not just selling ice; you’re the anchor LPG off-taker at every location, building a distributed bulk LPG consumption base entirely outside the crowded urban cooking fuel market.

Genuine unexplored LPG market

Everyone in Tanzania LPG is chasing the same household cooking customer in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Mwanza. Nobody is thinking about LPG as industrial process fuel for food preservation.

Yet the economics are compelling: a mid-sized LPG ice plant producing 5 tonnes of ice per day consumes roughly 300-400 kg of LPG daily – more than a 50-household residential cluster – and pays commercial (not subsidised) rates.

The Kilwa Masoko port investment creates a government-guaranteed demand anchor. The fishery value chain in Tanzania covers marine fisheries across the RUMAKI seascape and inland lakes – a geography that is structurally impossible to serve with grid electricity but perfectly matched to modular LPG cold chain units.

Entry advice

Start with one pilot site at Kilwa Masoko, timed to coincide with the port’s operational launch. Partner with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, which has development budget actively flowing.

Bring in an export-oriented fish processor as an anchor cold-storage tenant, who pre-commits capacity. The pilot de-risks the model and creates a replicable blueprint for 8-10 coastal and lake sites.

Tanzania Petroleum and its local and expatriate experts on LPG-run cold chain eco-system take the responsibility from the beginning of the project until it’s in the phase of revenue generation.

Hussein Boffu is a consultant specialising in feasibility studies, strategic advisory and project execution for the energy sector.

It is rare for me to finish a book and still not know how to talk about it weeks later. I finished Score by Kennedy Ryan weeks ago, yet every time I sat down to write this review, I found myself staring at a blank page.

At first, I thought it was because I had enjoyed Reel, the first book in the Hollywood series, more than this one. But the more I reflected, the more I realised that wasn’t the reason at all.

The truth is, Score asks its readers to confront bipolar disorder, an illness we rarely talk about openly in Tanzania. We speak more comfortably about physical illnesses than mental ones. Even when mental illness touches our families and communities, we often respond with silence, misunderstanding, or shame. Writing about a book that centres such an experience felt like a responsibility. I wanted to choose my words carefully.

Score, the second novel in Kennedy Ryan’s Hollywood series, follows Verity and Wright, better known as Monk. The two first meet at Finley College, where their connection is immediate. Both are artists at heart, Monk through music and Verity through writing, and they seem to recognise something in each other almost instantly. Before long, they fall in love.

For Monk, being with Verity means discovering an entirely new way of being loved. “How do I explain that it isn’t about how long we have known each other, but that with her I feel truly known?” he wonders.

There is something comforting about someone seeing all of you, not just the polished parts, and choosing to stay. Perhaps that is because love, more than anything else, is a choice we make every day.

Mental illness rarely cares how deeply two people love each other or how promising their future looks. Left untreated, it can change the course of a life. Verity begins behaving in ways that neither she nor those around her understand. Her relationship with Monk unravels, and she hurts the people she loves most, not because she stops loving them, but because something deeper is happening beneath the surface.

It is only after a frightening incident on campus, when a professor who has known Verity recognises that her behaviour is out of character, that she is taken to hospital and finally receives a diagnosis: bipolar disorder.

I realised how little I knew about bipolar disorder. More importantly, it made me wonder how someone like Verity would be treated where I come from. Would people recognise that she needed medical care, or would her behaviour be dismissed as rebellion, a spiritual attack, or simply “madness”? We rarely talk openly about mental illness, yet people living with it are part of our families, workplaces and communities. That is what made Score so difficult to write about.

But perhaps what moved me most was Ryan’s reminder that no one should have to navigate mental illness alone. Verity has people who learn how to love her through it. Friends. Aunties who have been there from the beginning. People who check on her, hold her accountable and catch her when she falls. Regardless of what we carry, we all need a community. Sisters. Friends. And sometimes, a partner who chooses to stay, even when staying is not easy.

Years later, Verity and Monk meet again on the set of Dessi Blue, a film produced by Monk’s friend, where they both have creative roles. It is immediately obvious that their feelings for each other have survived the years. But so has the hurt. Their reunion raises difficult questions about forgiveness, second chances and whether some broken relationships can ever truly be repaired.

Her disorder does not define Verity. She remains a writer, a daughter, a friend and a woman with dreams of her own. Bipolar disorder is not who she is. That distinction matters because it reminds us that a diagnosis is only one part of a person’s story.

Before reading Score, bipolar disorder was something I had heard about but never really understood. Ryan did not turn me into an expert, but she made me more curious, more compassionate and more aware of how quickly we judge behaviour we do not understand.

If I am being honest, Score is not my favourite Kennedy Ryan novel. I think it could have been shorter. Yet it is also the Kennedy Ryan book I have thought about the most since finishing it. If a novel can make us a little more compassionate towards people whose struggles we do not fully understand, I think it has done something worthwhile.

If the World Cup has taught me anything, it’s that some of us don’t need facts to predict disaster. A striker misses one penalty and suddenly your uncle in the family WhatsApp group is giving football breakdowns like he’s been coaching the national team since 1988. “Hekaheka nyingi! Sack the coach! Unaona hayo mambo?! We’re finished!’ And that’s exactly the energy people have about AI right now.

You can’t open LinkedIn without someone shouting, “AI is taking our jobs!” Proofreaders and copywriters? Carried off on a stretcher. Accountants? Dead and buried by half time. Marketers? Getting the manager sacked come Monday morning. Data entry clerks? Already on the team bus headed back to the airport.

At this point, AI has been hired, promoted, fast-tracked into management, made Employee of the Month, and somehow landed a corner office. No wonder everyone’s panicking.

Yet I wonder, is the conversation really about technology or identity? I’ve also asked myself – What exactly am I bringing to the table if a machine can do this in seconds?

For now, my theory is that perhaps the biggest misunderstanding about AI is that it’s coming for our jobs. In many cases, it’s coming for tasks, and that distinction forces us to reconsider our definition of value.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, technological change is expected to displace 92 million jobs globally by 2030 while creating 170 million new ones, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs. The same report estimates that nearly 40 percent of workers’ existing skills will need to evolve over the coming years.

So, the future is not running out of work. It’s simply running out of certain types of work.

Furthermore, according to workforce and automation studies, data entry clerks, medical transcriptionists, customer service representatives, bookkeepers, legal research assistants, stock illustrators, and many others are already seeing portions of their jobs automated. In customer service alone, some companies now resolve roughly 65 percent of routine first-level inquiries using AI systems without human intervention.

And with AI becoming more affordable every year, the question is not whether jobs will change. They absolutely will. The question is: What value can we create once the routine work is no longer ours to do?

When we look back at history, we see that Excel spreadsheets did not replace accountants. Google did not replace researchers. Calculators did not eliminate mathematics. What happened instead was that the nature of expertise evolved.

For the first time in history, an African solopreneur can perform work that once required a team of five. The implication is not that human talent can now be amplified in ways that were previously unavailable to most people.

The future may no longer belong to those who can process information the fastest. It belongs now, to the profesionals who can overcome the temptation to cling to an outdated version of themselves; those willing to evolve, rethink what they have to offer and redefine how they create value in our AI era.

Because value, like identity, is not a fixed thing.

It is a living story.

And every era asks us to rewrite it.

Young Africans (Yanga) are taking their time before deciding the future of Captain Bakari Mwamnyeto, with financial considerations emerging as one of the key factors behind the delay in renewing contracts for several players whose deals have expired, The Citizen can reveal.

Mwamnyeto is among a number of Yanga players awaiting new agreements after the conclusion of the 2025/2026 season, despite playing a significant role in the club’s continued dominance in Tanzanian football.

Sources within the club said negotiations have not been concluded because Yanga’s management is carefully reviewing the financial demands of players seeking contract renewals, particularly regarding signing fees.

According to the source, some experienced players are requesting higher signing fees than those they received in previous contracts, forcing the club to reassess whether such payments match the players’ current value, age and long-term contribution.

The club believes contract renewals require a different approach compared to signing new players, as existing players have already contributed to the club’s success over several seasons.

‘It is true that some players are asking for bigger signing fees despite having already served the club for several seasons.

The club has to consider such factors because it cannot always provide the same signing fees given to new players,’ said a member of Yanga’s executive committee.

‘It is possible to increase salaries while maintaining or reducing signing fees, but the club must conduct proper analysis before making decisions on contract renewals.’

Mwamnyeto joined Yanga on August 1, 2020 from Coastal Union and has since become one of the club’s most influential players during a successful era.

The defender has helped Yanga win five consecutive Mainland Tanzania Premier League titles and four CRDB Federation Cup trophies, while also playing a leadership role as team captain.

However, despite his contribution, the club is yet to reach an agreement with the player as it continues reviewing the future of several members of the squad.

The source added that the delay is also linked to other commitments at the club, including preparations for leadership elections following a demanding season.

‘We are yet to sign Mwamnyeto and others. There is still time because we are coming from a tough season, and the club is now preparing for new leadership elections.

I am sure the time will come and the matter will be resolved,’ said the source. Mwamnyeto’s manager, Carlos Silvester, confirmed that the defender’s contract with Yanga expired at the end of the season, saying they are currently assessing his performance before deciding on the next move.

‘Bakari has finished his contract. When the season ended, his agreement with Yanga also came to an end. We have just started evaluating the previous season,’ said Silvester.

‘He performed well while at Yanga, scored important goals, won the league title and the Community Shield. We can say it was one of his best seasons.’

Silvester said the assessment will also include discussions over a possible contract extension at Yanga, while considering other offers that may come from interested clubs.

‘After the evaluation, we will look at the possibility of adding another contract and also consider new offers before making a final decision,’ he said.

CRDB Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to nurturing young talent, promoting innovation and empowering youth to seize entrepreneurial opportunities, recognising their vital contribution to Tanzania’s economic and social development.

Speaking during the grand finale of the 16th season of CRDB Bank Bongo Star Search held in Dar es Salaam over the weekend, the bank’s Director of Small and Medium Enterprise Banking, Bonaventura Paul, said the competition has become an important platform for identifying, empowering and developing young artistic talent to help them realise their dreams.

“Today is not only a victory for Praise Wisdom, but also a victory for all young people in Tanzania and East Africa. We have witnessed exceptional talent, discipline, creativity and determination that enabled the finalists to reach this important stage of the competition,” said Bonaventura, who officiated at the event.

The finale featured contestants from Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Bonaventura encouraged participants to remain innovative throughout their artistic careers by producing compelling creative works, improving their performance skills and using art as a tool to educate, entertain and inspire communities on various development issues.

He said CRDB Bank would continue supporting talented young people by providing youth friendly financial services, financial literacy programmes, entrepreneurship training and access to capital to help them transform their talents into sustainable economic opportunities.

“We invite all young people with innovative ideas, projects and businesses that require financial support to partner with CRDB Bank. We believe that when talent is given the right environment, it can become a major source of employment, income generation and national development,” he said.

This season marked the first partnership between CRDB Bank and Benchmark Productions, the organisers of Bongo Star Search. The competition awarded the winner a brand new car and Sh50 million in cash.

Bonaventura said Benchmark Productions’ long standing success in discovering and developing young talent, while providing aspiring artists with opportunities to learn, build confidence and join the creative industry at nationally and internationally recognised standards, attracted CRDB Bank to support the initiative.

He noted that the competition’s success over the past 16 years demonstrates the importance of continued investment in young people, particularly at a time when the global economy increasingly depends on innovation and the contribution of the younger generation to drive growth across various sectors.

Bonaventura also congratulated the organisers, judges, contestants and fans for making the 2026 season a success, while urging stakeholders to address existing challenges to ensure an even better competition in 2027.

Benchmark Productions Chief Executive Officer Rita Paulsen thanked the sponsors for their continued support, saying it had strengthened the organisers’ commitment to reaching and empowering more young people.

“We sincerely thank CRDB Bank for partnering with us. We are committed to continuously improving the competition so that it benefits even more young people. We are confident that the bank’s youth focused financial services will also create greater opportunities for our contestants through this partnership,” said Rita.