Investors

INVESTMENT:
OPENING THE DOORS TO INVESTORS

Tanzania is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing economies in Africa in terms of both growth and investment potential. Its current growth rate standards at 6.3 per cent and is attributed to major reforms undertaken since mid 1980's ranging from trade and exchange liberalization, privatization of former state owned Parastatals, increased competition in the financed sector and implementation of prudent fiscal and monetary policies, the reforms have ensured the country's stability.

The economic reforms implemented by the 4th government have contributed a great deal to the stable economy by ensuring that the private sector enjoys a friendly legal policy and that there is necessary infrastructure.

Comprehensive economic and political reforms undertaken since mid 1980's have over time brought an efficient economic management, financial discipline, and a framework for dynamic high growth economy.

The donor community and foreign invests must particularly be watching the economic situation with lots of optimism as the country makes headways in poverty alleviation and development ventures.

Great reasons why investors need to invest in Tanzania

Investment security: Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa where peace, unparalleled political stability, a strong tradition of constitutionality and the rule of law are guaranteed.

Economic stability: the minister for Finance and Economy Hon. Mustafa Mkulo said recently that despite the effects of the global financial crisis, Tanzania has a vibrant economy the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew to 7.4 per cent in 2008 compared to 7.1 per cent in 2007. That ranks as one of the fastest growing economy in the sub-Saharan Africa. The country offers a business friendly investment climate.

PRESIDENT KIKWETE "we are now working hard to overcome the many challenges of improving both the business climate and our economic infrastructure to ensure that Tanzania remains Africa's leading investment destination".

According to Kikwete, his Government was taking all vital measures to create a stable and attractive macro and micro economic climate with single digit inflation, ongoing reforms in fiscal and monetary policy and improvement in the business climate through legal and regulatory reform aimed at streamlining procedures and freeing businesses from unnecessary bureaucracy.

"Our aim is to reduce poverty and improve educational opportunities for all citizens and investment has a clear role to play in helping us achieve this challenging objective. Not only will it create new jobs, but it will also bring new skills and technology to the country that will in turn improve our ability to compete in the global economy", the President said.

Tanzania has many strengths and opportunities. Its strategic location makes it a natural East African hub for investors seeking to exploit not only resources but also a growing market of 527 million consumers in the East and Southern Africa Region.

In Tanzania, opportunities abound in for all types of investors from tourism to mining and from farming to financial services and ICT. But we are also looking to investors to create partnerships to help us improve the economic infrastructure of our country.

"My country aims at working in partnerships with the private sector to identify and exploit all opportunities that will improve our ability to compete", he noted. The government of Tanzania welcomes all prospective investors to Tanzania, and is dedicated to ensure all investments work to the country's mutual benefit.

In the same vein, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Mr. Emmanuel Ole Naiko, Tanzania as a premier investment destination in Africa that has continued to implement economic reforms that started in 1990 with a view to creating an attractive and competitive business environment suitable for both domestic and international investors.

Naiko says the country has abundant natural resources including attractive and unique features such as Mt. Kilimanjaro, suitable for wide range of tourist activities. It also offers ample human resources, extensive arable land for farming and large variety of unexploited mineral resources.

The TIC's CEO says although the country has all these resources, Tanzania remains a poor country because it lacks capital, skills and technological resources to exploit its natural wealth for economic development.

Tanzania also has an admirable geographical location linking this country with size able, but unexploited markets made up of un preferential trade agreements such as AGOA and EBA as well as regional trade arrangements like SADC and EAC.

In the above scenario one clearly finds a win-win situation in declining to invest in Tanzania.

He says TIC was specifically created to meet the needs of both domestic and foreign investors. Apart from their headquarters in Dar es Salaam, TIC has zonal offices in Kilimanjaro covering Arusha, Manyara, Tanga and Kilimanjaro itself. Mwanza office covering Shinyanga, Kagera, Mara and Mwanza itself.

Other zonal offices are Mbeya zonal office that covers Iringa, Rukwa, Ruvuma and Mbeya.

Tanzania being a country located in Central East Africa with about 1,400 Km of coastline along the Indian Ocean, the largest nation in East Africa in terms of land with 883,749 km2, whereas 881,289km2 mainland, 2,460 km2 Zanzibar), plus lakes totaling to 59,100km2, is regarded as one of the countries with the highest growth potential in Africa with enormous potential as an investment destination.

It is one of the most promising emerging markets in the region, offering a unique combination of developed economic infrastructure and a vibrant emerging market economy.

Tanzania is the leading FDI destination in the East Africa region. In the last decade the total FDI stock in Tanzania exceeded US$ 6 billion. Tanzania has improved the overall legal framework for investment activities in the country for over the last several years. A number of practical regulations liberalizing conduct of business and reducing red tape have been introduced.

In Tanzania agriculture has become a national agenda. Tanzania has a dual agricultural economy, with a fast growing large scale commercial farming and more subsistence-based production in the deep rural areas. Tanzania's agriculture and agribusiness have a number of competitive advantages, making the country a viable investment destination.

The comparative advantage s include, among others, biodiversity,
competitive input costs, infrastructure such as deep- water ports, international airports, a network of roads and railways and a fast growing sophisticated financial sector.

Having recognised its importance to the growth of the national economy and the fight against hunger and poverty, the Government of Tanzania in this year's fiscal year has given first priority to agriculture-with the theme "agriculture first".

As a leading economic sector in Tanzania, agriculture provides a livelihood to 80 per cent of the population. It is the primary source of food and raw materials accounting for half of the GDP and is the second export sector after mining terms of receipts. It remains critical for achieving sustained growth, poverty reduction and rural development.

Major cash crops include coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, and cashew nuts while food crops include maize, rice, pulse and wheat.

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