Author: Padili Mikomangwa

Tanzania has always run on a wider and richer path of reliable business partners, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of them. The two countries have been engaging in a number of diplomatic and economic operations since 1974, and they have built a healthy partnership. 

With the new administration led by President Samia Suluhu, which is strictly focused on opening and building strategic partnerships with other countries, the UAE and Tanzania could foster more tangible business relations, from the extractives sector to tourism and hospitality. 

The new administration is now streamlining deliberate efforts to promote tourism and industrial development to create more jobs and improve the national economy. 

At the moment different top-tier investing parties have showcased their confidence in Tanzania, including Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, who plans to construct a fertilizer factory {The Citizen}. 

The UAE holds nearly 10 million people and stands on a $421 …

NMB is also listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) and has been tracking rather promising records. According to DSE daily market highlights, NMB’s closing price stood at TShs. 2,340 and the previous closing price was TShs. 2,340.

The bank’s largest shareholders are strategic partners Arise B.V with a 34.9 per cent shareholding and the government of Tanzania with a 31.8 per cent shareholding.

According to NMB, alongside its financial achievement, “the Bank has also received several awards, highlighting the growth trajectory of the institution. In 2020, NMB’s achievements led to internationally acclaimed recognition as the Safest Bank in Tanzania by Global Finance magazine, and being named Best Bank in Tanzania for 8th consecutive time by Euromoney magazine,”…

Africa’s blue economy prospects 

What if Africa could farm its oceans and reap benefits from it? Yes, research findings from African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) in collaboration with African Development Bank (AfDB), ‘Prospects for developing green aquaculture in Africa 2021’ report brings a whole new depth to aquaculture in Africa. 

The continent is growing fast, and it could grow more sustainably if it utilizes its most crucial resource, natural wealth. The report highlighted that the aquaculture sector is slowly growing and it shows a strong potential for expansion. 

The world aquaculture landscape is showing promise. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 2020 report showed that farmed seafood globally produced 82.1 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2018—which is equivalent to 96.4 tonnes of fisheries catch. 

“Global aquaculture has been growing at an average annual rate of 5 per cent over the past 20 years and this growth is expected to …

No family wants to be stuck in their home and yet starve due to food security systems being shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic which has taken more than 40 million people’s lives and affected over 200 million worldwide. 

That scenario could become occurring dangerous reality if food security concerns are not addressed immediately, as reports from multiple food security monitoring groups such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) suggests that East Africa will “remain a food insecurity hotspot as new COVID-19 variants continue to spread”. 

The pandemic and its new variants bring more pressure to the fragile food security systems and unstable economies of East Africa, as precautionary measures weigh in on-farm operations, weaken supply chains and increase cross-border trade tensions. 

Even before the pandemic shocks, the African food system had a few setbacks in its path which included the inadequate capability to analyze risks and …

The central bank of Tanzania (BoT) has painted the state of the economy on a different canvas. 

BoT’s economic bulletin for the quarter ending June 2021 and the monthly economic review for July 2021 indicates Tanzania has been on a very promising trajectory for the past two years, shown by its dedication towards building a resilient industrial economy and self-reliance through steady ownership and control of natural wealth. 

According to the BoT, in the quarter ending March 2021, the economy grew by 4.9 per cent compared with 5.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter in 2020 and four sectors were noted to have contributed greatly, namely construction, transport, agriculture and storage. 

Former hotbed sectors and speedy forex contributors such as accommodation and restaurants were gravely impacted by the pandemic, slapping a -1.7 per cent performance for 2021. 

By the end of March 2021, the growth and expansion of telecom in …

What is Tanzania without the Serengeti?  One cannot mention Tanzania’s beauty without alluding to the amazing landscapes of Mikumi or the exhilarating hiking experience of the Kilimanjaro.  All these make up the tourism packet—perhaps one of the greatest in Africa— that Tanzania has in its economic arsenal. 

Tourism is Tanzania’s notable primary foreign exchange earner, which brought in more than $2.4 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.1 per cent that time—from $2.2 billion in 2017 (Tanzania Invest). 

On the other side, last year forex earnings dropped to a 10-year low during the year ending October 2020, contributed by the travel restrictions as a response towards curbing COVID-19 infections. Tanzania saw only $1.2 billion in its forex compared to $2.5 marked in the year ending October 2019, according to information from The Citizen. 

In its pursuit of tourism glory, Tanzania has not been alone. Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda are right …

The central bank of Tanzania (BoT) released the monthly economic review report on Wednesday, August 2021. The report brought various in-depth details on the performance of the life-pumping sectors of the economy in Tanzania, including exports, imports, and money supply.

Inflation

Tanzania has managed to sustain the inflation to a considerate level over the past month; hence in the recent report, the East African country has continued to keep the inflation on a low level and within the benchmarks set forth at national and regional levels.

The report argued that this is attributed to sufficient domestic food supply, stable exchange rate, and prudent fiscal and monetary policies.

“Twelve-month headline inflation increased to 3.6 per cent from 3.2 per cent recorded in the corresponding period in 2020 and 3.3 per cent recorded in May 2021. The increase was mainly attributed to an increase in prices of non-food items”, the Bank of …

The programme has so far managed to bring on board at least eight companies, such as Selcom Paytech Limited, Techno Image Ltd, AKM Glitters Company, financial institutions such as FINCA Microfinance, Victoria Finance PLC, AML Finance and Reni International Company Limited.

Endeleza which is also a Swahili literal term for “prolong” has been fitted with an ultimate objective which is qualifying SMEs with access to potential private capital from investors and financiers and other actors across the line such as angel investors, venture capital funds, private equity funds, banks and other financial institutions.…

As the two countries keep pressing different economic plans, the visit ushers in crucial business opportunities as the business community listed seven priorities, they “would focus on in bilateral talks between Tanzania and Rwanda that could boost the intra-trade between the two” according to information from The Citizen.

The key issues to be dealt with from the start from stabilizing economic relations: clearing out the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), and payment of unpaid transactions that Rwandan importers owe clearing and forwarding agents and transporters in Tanzania, according to The Citizen.…

Economies perform better when their fate is secured, in other words—sustainable growth performs better under the crucial reassurance of insurance.  

In this era of cutting-edge technology, insurance is a common necessity to possess, hence—the presence of mitigating losses, gaining financial stability, and promoting trade and commerce operations—as catered to by insurance, are the core building blocks of present-day economic success. 

Taking the youngest continent on the planet—Africa, into account—the simple concept of insurance stands to be an important pillar towards developing reliable development initiatives.  

According to Mckinsey, Africa’s insurance industry is valued at around $68 billion in terms of gross written premiums, standing as the eighth largest in the world. 

Faced with multiple natural hazards, insurance cover shields economies, businesses, and communities at large through supporting resiliency and disaster recovery.  

Several think tanks, including the US-based, Mckinsey Global Institute and Brookings, have marked Africa as one of the fastest-growing insurance …