DREAMS (Delivering Resilient Enterprises and Market Systems) is an innovative, first-of-its-kind program which combines Mercy Corps’ expertise in market systems development with Village Enterprise’s poverty graduation program.

Main objective: To Build self-reliance of naturalized and their host communities in Western Tanzania to address entrenched and extreme poverty

Specific objectives.

• To Increase market participation, sector investments, and sustainable entrepreneurship growth among target male & female participants1
• To strengthen Market systems development (inclusive market access, private sector

linkages)

• To Strengthen legal inclusion and protection of DREAMS participants to enhance
• economic participation

DREAMS Tanzania is a consortium project of five organizations i.e. Mercy Corps, Village Enterprise, Dignity Kwanza, Caritas for Ulyankulu interventions and ADP Mbozi for Katavi intervention. Donor of the program is Mercy cops who is the lead/prime consortium member coordinating and the contracting authority for all other partners and leads the Market Systems development component of the project.

However, Village Enterprise does not have a direct operational presence in Tanzania and is therefore unable to implement the program on its own. To address this, through Mercy Corps as a contracting authority, it is partnering with ADP Mbozi, a local organization with extensive experience and strong community ties in the Katavi region. This collaboration will ensure local relevance, effective delivery, and strong community engagement. By combining Village Enterprise’s technical support with ADP Mbozi’s on-the-ground

The coverage area for ADP-Mbozi is naturalized Tanzanians from Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have lived in remote settlements of Katumba and host community around the Katumba settlement. Although they were given land and access to basic services, geographic isolation, restrictions on movement, and decades of underinvestment have left them trapped in poverty.

DREAMS addresses these challenges by creating sustainable enterprises and promoting a culture of savings. The initiative also aims to strengthen the broader market system within these settlements, improving linkages with input suppliers, traders, financial institutions, and service providers. This ecosystem approach benefits both refugees and host communities by fostering local economic growth.