Four Things We’ve Learned About Effective Collaborations from Working with Tanzania's Tea Sector

How do you shift a sector which has been relatively stagnant for 50+ years? 

Tanzania exported USD $30 million of tea in 2023, but women tea farmers found making their produce profitable was a challenge because they faced numerous gendered barriers to extending their role in market systems. CARE’s Her Money, Her Life project demonstrates how intentional space for learning and collaborative action with government and private sector partners can create systems-level impact right across the supply chain. 

This collaboration, which brought together national level partners from different perspectives, resulted in a 17% increase in the official purchase price of green leaf tea with the potential to positively impact 32,000 tea farmers. A specialty tea company formed of more than 1,600 smallholder farmers reported a 546% income increase as a result of selling processed tea instead of green leaves. This success secured government commitment to scale up the company’s women-led factory model through construction of five more processing factories. The social enterprise partnering with women tea farmers saw an 82% Return on Investment, with this expected to more than double to 188% in 2025.

It’s clear that Her Money, Her Life’s co-creation approach between partners from different sectors has increased incomes, extended women’s role in the value chain and significantly changed the tea sector in Tanzania. From our experience with the project, four factors are crucial for creating impactful partnerships. 

1. Find the right partners

Acknowledging gaps in expertise helps find those with complementary experience. 

CARE has more than 30 years of experience using Village Savings & Loans Associations (VSLAs) to increase women’s economic power, with extensive evidence of the most effective ways to address the barriers women face at household and community level. However, CARE Tanzania recognized a need for new and diverse perspectives to solve challenges outside of their expertise. They proactively built relationships with key external stakeholders representing different aspects of the tea value chain. 

First, we identified a private sector partner with industry expertise in tea cultivation and marketing. Kazi Yetu, a women-led specialty tea company focused on ethical sourcing from Tanzania, was an ideal choice as they as they are very aligned with CARE’s values and goals. Kazi Yetu brought deep technical insights on the tea value chain and supported implementation.

Second, to achieve impact at scale we needed government buy-in and support. The project chose to strategically collaborate with three government departments: the Tea Board of Tanzania; the Tea Research Institute of Tanzania; and the Tanzania Small Holders Tea Development Agency (TSHTDA). Together these three institutions, all relevant to the tea sector in different ways, acted as strategic partners to advise on advocacy and engagement with the Ministry of Agriculture.

2. Collaborate right from the start

Co-creation builds meaningful engagement with all partners from the outset and leads to innovative solutions. 

During an initial partner meeting, Her Money, Her Life invited stakeholders to identify gaps which offered potential opportunities. This led to solutions which looked beyond the remit and expertise of any one actor. For example: 

• Kazi Yetu raised farmers’ limited role in the tea value chain in Tanzania, with women in particular having little control over purchase price or ways to add value. Creation of the Sakare Specialty Tea Company (SSTC), using a model where a smallholder cooperative has a stake in this with Kazi Yetu, and construction of a tea processing factory in a new location provided opportunities for women to take on new roles within the value chain. 
• The Tea Board of Tanzania highlighted the official price for green leaf tea had not increased for five years, negatively affecting women’s ability to earn sufficient income from their tea farms. To overcome high costs for transporting this to Mombasa, the closest tea auction, CARE supported creation of a new Tanzanian Tea Auction in Dar Es Salaam as the most effective way to increase income for all tea farmers. 
• The Tea Research Institute of Tanzania raised that there are no consistent standards for tea cultivation practices in Tanzania, limiting women farmers’ ability to increase the quality and quantity of their crops. Together the partnership created a standard Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) manual. 

Convening quarterly reflection meetings with these external stakeholders throughout the project ensured there were consistent opportunities for all to pause and reflect on progress. This regular and ongoing collaboration meant potential barriers could be proactively addressed — for example, when planning new interventions, government institutions worked together with CARE to lay the groundwork with the Ministry of Agriculture before approaching them for official approval. 

3. Solve problems together

Regular space to analyze learning as a project progresses means partners can respond to challenges more efficiently. 

For Her Money, Her Life, this allowed for pivots based on stakeholder feedback. Examples include:

• Following CARE’s baseline, Kazi Yetu saw a need to better understand the gender norms limiting women’s ability to make their tea farms profitable. They commissioned further gender study, sourcing additional funds for this, which influenced the partnership to conduct a national radio campaign to tackle social norms around women’s role in the tea sector.
• Progress on setting up the demonstration factory stalled when Kazi Yetu realised the smallholder cooperative had not completed required governance actions, such as regular elections and an official audit. The partnership redirected attention and resources towards support for the cooperative to fulfil these requirements.
• During development of the GAP manual, CARE’s input highlighted the need for this to not only be in Swahili, but to also be appropriate for those with low literacy levels. 

4. Remain flexible

Flexibility in everything from funding to facilitation makes actions more effective.

For Her Money, Her Life, the flexibility of the donor was key in enabling the project to pivot in response to government priorities and opportunities. Without the ability to act upon the suggestions of external stakeholders, building trust and a sense of co-ownership would have been a longer, more challenging process. 

Within CARE, pause and reflect opportunities also enabled internal pivots which enhanced program quality. For example, a Gender Analysis which highlighted dynamics within the community affecting women’s participation led to more gender and leadership training for all staff and partners.  

These consistent opportunities for diverse actors to pause and reflect on progress meant the project was better able to identify the structural barriers which limited women’s ability to earn sustainable income. 

Her Money, Her Life is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Read more about the project’s approach and impacts, or listen to this podcast interview with two of the project’s partners.