Community Development for All (CODEFA)
Community Development for All (CODEFA), led by Executive Director Ruth Bethuel Mleba, is a Tanzanian women-led organization dedicated to empowering women and young mothers in underserved communities. Through entrepreneurship training, financial literacy, and business development support, CODEFA equips women with the practical skills they need to manage and grow sustainable businesses — improving family wellbeing and strengthening local economies across Tanzania.
With a $500 microgrant from Giving Joy, CODEFA set out to deliver a hands-on financial literacy and taxation training program for 30 women entrepreneurs. The goal: give women the practical knowledge to confidently manage their businesses, transition from informal to formal operations, and access financial services like credit and insurance. Specific focus areas included tax compliance, bookkeeping, savings, responsible borrowing, and understanding government procurement opportunities.
CODEFA brought together 31 women entrepreneurs for an intensive multi-day program. Participants first engaged in interactive sessions covering gender roles in business, the unique challenges women face as entrepreneurs, the importance of gender equality, and practical lessons in tax compliance and budgeting. Women had space to share personal experiences — reflecting openly on how family responsibilities and limited access to finance shape their businesses.
CODEFA also invited officials from the Tanzania Revenue Authority, the Community Development Office, the Corruption Bureau, and the Trade, Investment & Industry Office to speak directly with participants. These government representatives answered questions, clarified misconceptions about registration and taxation, and reinforced the importance of compliance and transparency. The direct access to officials was a program highlight — building trust between informal entrepreneurs and formal institutions in a way that a lecture alone never could.
To measure the program's effectiveness, CODEFA administered pre- and post-evaluation forms to assess knowledge gained and shifts in participant confidence, with full analysis to be included in a final report.
The 31 women who participated represented a cross-section of Tanzania's informal economy: tailors, soap makers, food vendors, and pharmacy workers, among others. Five were registered business owners struggling with compliance; 26 were operating informally. By the end of the program:
Participants reported increased confidence in understanding tax laws, budgeting, and record-keeping.
Informal entrepreneurs recognized the concrete benefits of formalizing their businesses.
Registered business owners gained practical steps to improve compliance and avoid penalties.
Women left with new connections to government institutions and a clearer path toward formal financial services.
The Impact
The ripple effects of this training extend well beyond the 31 women in the room. Their families — an estimated 155 individuals — stand to benefit from improved household income and financial stability. And through participants' businesses, an estimated 200 or more customers benefit from improved services and more compliant, sustainable operations.
At the organizational level, the program strengthened CODEFA's reputation and deepened its partnerships with government institutions, positioning it as a trusted bridge between informal entrepreneurs and the formal economy. At the community level, the training advanced gender equality and economic transparency — moving women closer to financial independence and meaningful participation in local economic development.
Looking Ahead
CODEFA plans to build on this foundation with follow-up mentorship sessions on record-keeping, budgeting, and compliance. Future programming will include more hands-on exercises — such as completing sample tax forms and drafting real budgets — and continuous monitoring to track participant progress over time. CODEFA is also working toward developing simplified training materials in Kiswahili to make content more accessible to informal entrepreneurs, and exploring seed funding opportunities to help participants transition fully into formal businesses.
