On 26 February 2026, the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) had the honour of hosting a technical delegation from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) for a strategic site visit and partnership discussions.

On behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Maulilio Kipanyula, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic, Research and Innovation (DVC-ARI), Prof. Anthony Mshandete, welcomed Mr. Frank Shayo, Mr. Rweyemamu Barongo, and Mr. Edwin Salema to explore potential areas of collaboration between the two institutions, as part of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NM-AIST and BoT.

The discussions identified several high-impact areas for partnership, including:

• Currency Management Systems
• Economic Forecasting and Analytics (GDP nowcasting, inflation modeling, exchange rate analysis)
• Financial Sector Supervision (leveraging gender-disaggregated data for inclusive policy insights)
• Service Management Optimization
• Automated News and Financial Intelligence Analysis

These priority areas align with NM-AIST’s commitment to applied research, digital innovation, and national development.

Representing the School of Computational and Communication Science and Engineering (CoCSE), Dr. Ramadhani Sinde reaffirmed NM-AIST’s readiness and capacity to undertake cutting-edge research and innovation projects that address national economic and financial challenges, and emphasized CoCSE’s preparedness to effectively implement the agreed collaborative activities.

The delegation toured state-of-the-art facilities, including:

• Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratories
• Cybersecurity Laboratories
• High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure (Supercomputing facilities)

These facilities position NM-AIST as a leading hub for data-driven research, AI solutions and advanced computational modeling in the region.

The BoT reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with NM-AIST to achieve tangible outcomes from this partnership. Key areas of support discussed include:

• Joint research supervision, particularly for CoCSE students
• Infrastructure development
• Provision of datasets under formal data-sharing protocols
• Technical validation and testing of AI and Data Science solutions

Representing the BoT, Mr. Shayo expressed appreciation for the warm reception and commended NM-AIST for its strong research culture, innovation ecosystem, and talent development initiatives. He particularly highlighted the Institution’s advanced digital laboratories and supercomputing capabilities as critical assets for impactful collaboration.

Mr. Barongo further emphasized BoT’s interest in deepening collaboration in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, particularly in comprehensive testing, validation and deployment of innovative financial technologies to drive sustainable development in Tanzania and beyond.

The visit marks a significant step toward establishing a long-term strategic partnership between NM-AIST and the Bank of Tanzania by bridging academia-industrial linkages to promote applied research, digital innovation and national financial governance.

Through collaborative research, advanced analytics and joint capacity building, the two institutions aim to contribute meaningfully to economic resilience, financial sector innovation, and evidence-based policy development in Tanzania.