Author: Giza Mdoe

Tanzania is laying the groundwork to launch its first satellite into space.  The launch, which will enhance Tanzania’s tech industry, follows similar move by Uganda and Kenya. Twitter Owner Elon Musk’s Starlink has also been seeking the node to launch services in Tanzania. Plans are underway for Tanzania’s first satellite to take off into the lower space, an initiative that will serve to improve the country’s tech industry and digital communications. Tanzania’s first satellite to enhance connectivity Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology Engineer Kundo Mathew said the satellite will improve digital communications in the country. He…

Dubai-based logistics giant DP World will be given berths five to seven in the Port of Dar es Salaam to manage. The move comes as rising number of ports in Africa go private as governments seek to boost import/export trade. Tanzania plans to increase the port’s revenue collection by 233.7 per cent over the next 10 years under the DP World deal. The port handles various types of cargo, including containers, bulk cargo, and petroleum products for Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, and Uganda. The port of Dar es Salaam, which the World Bank has labelled East Africa’s busiest and most…

A recent meeting between the President of Zanzibar, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi and  Qatar’s First Vice-Chairman, Mohamed bin Twar Al Kuwari highlighted these figures. The two high-ranking officials met in Qatar. The Zanzibar president called on investors from the rich United Arab Emirates to invest in the island.

Climate Change-related flooding saw large swathes of farmlands and settlement areas in Nigeria’s coastal Niger Delta flooded by December 2022. Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and armed herders have forced at least 78,000 farmers to abandon their farmland. Over the past eight years, an estimated 6,000 Benue people reported killed while two million farmers were displaced. Nigeria is battling a perfect storm with a double whammy of climate change and conflict exacerbating the country’s food crisis. Currently an estimated 25.3 million people in Nigeria are facing food crisis partly worsened by the ongoing flooding throughout the country. As of December 2022,…

As of 2021, the value of Brazil-Africa trade was $7.4 billion, being 56 percent drop from $17 billion in 2011. Brazil’s energy giant Petrobas left Africa in 2020, selling off its subsidiary, Petrobas and Gas BV. President Lula: “Brazil would not be what it is today without the participation of millions of Africans”. The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) has mapped out potential investment and trade opportunities across Africa, a pointer to a new era of economic relations between the two regions that literally sit on opposite sides of the south Atlantic Ocean. The move is part of…

World hunger is not the result of food shortage, and opposition to gene-edited crops, but due to political strife. Global food production is sufficient to feed all, but skewed distribution systems create a huge shortfall in countries. Analysis shows that even if GMOs were adopted globally, food shortage will persist. Globally, Genetically Modified (GM) crops have been touted as the magic wand that could end world hunger. The ability of gene-edited crops to produce more over shorter periods of time and their resistance to diseases has been lauded. Further, GMO’s ability to resist poor weather conditions occasioned by climate crisis…

A rising number of informal women traders in border towns are resorting to corruption to survive. Corruption, harassment, and sexual bribes is threatening the success of enterprise between African economies. The World Bank estimates small-scale cross-border trade provides income to 43 percent people in Africa. Small-scale trade remains vital in securing livelihoods in East Africa, but rampant cross-border corruption is posing a serious threat to a vital cog in this enterprise—thousands of informal women traders. This is unlike during pre-colonial period when African communities used to travel long distances, crossing today’s “borders” to barter their goods with traders from a…

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which most recently held its ordinary meeting on 22nd May 2023 has approved the toughened stance. The MPC resolved that; “Given the domestic and global economic conditions, the Bank is to sustain the implementation of less accommodative monetary policy in May and June 2023,” in other words, Tanzanians should tighten their belts. Some more. This policy stance will ensure that inflation in Tanzania remains within the target of 5.4 percent in the remainder of 2022/23.” 

In its simplest form, the trade in commodities is the modern adaptation of the barter trade system. Farmers in Tanzania can choose their cropping pattern based on the spot and futures prices set by the exchange. A total of 56,367.5MT of commodities worth $45.6 million were traded through the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange between 2019 and 2021. We are all familiar with the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange market, but only a few are aware of the not-so-famous Tanzania Mercantile Exchange(TMX). As the names suggest, the stock exchange involves the trading of stocks while the latter entails the trading of commodities.…

Tanzania, a country with a total area of 947,300 km², is home to Africa’s second-largest cattle herd. Meat exports constitute about 7.1 percent of the East African country’s GDP. With eyes on higher revenues, Tanzania aims to produce 10,000 tonnes of meat annually by 2025. With a big herd and stakes high in the international food markets, Tanzania has set her eyes on ambitious plan of shipping 10,000 tonnes of meat exports annually by 2025. Whereas Tanzania is home to Africa’s second-largest cattle herd, the country has been punching below its weight. Currently, Tanzania is not one of the top…