In French Last month, 44 African nations gathered in Kigali to sign an agreement establishing a framework for the world’s largest free trade area (FTA) since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995 – but how ready is Africa for such a deal? And to what extent will the Continental FTA (CFTA) be able to enhance intra-regional trade? The deal aims to establish a single continental market…
In French Business Barometer: OBG in Africa CEO Survey Copyright (c). All rights reserved. This survey has been designed to assess business sentiment amongst business leaders (Chief Executives or equivalent) and their outlook for the next 12 months. Unlike many surveys, the OBG Business Barometer is conducted by OBG staff on a face-to-face basis, across the full range of industries, company sizes…
A World Bank-funded project to realise the potential of Tanzania’s southern safari circuit, coupled with an influx of high-end hospitality players, looks set to support long-term growth in the tourism industry. In mid-February Vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan launched the TSh340bn ($150m) Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW) project with the World Bank’s International…
Ongoing foreign investment is setting Tanzania up to become one of the largest graphite producers worldwide, despite concerns over thenew mining law. In mid-January Volt Resources, an Australian flake graphite development firm focused on Tanzania, raised $4.7m in capital to help fast-track the initial stage of its flagship Bunyu graphite project. The funds – raised through a structured…
So much has happened over the past decade in the African markets we cover: Ghana discovered oil, Nigeria re-based its economy, Kenya developed mobile money, Côte d’Ivoire recovered from a civil war, Egypt underwent a peaceful revolution, and Morocco created an aeronautics industry. State assets were privatised, dictators were ousted, and new cities were built. Of course, there have been plenty…
Initiatives to extend finance to students at university and expand access to ICT are helping to strengthen Tanzania’s education system. In mid-August two NGOs – the Tanzania Social Support Foundation (TSSF) and the Cosmopolitan Development Foundation – inked a deal to provide loans to more than 50,000 students enrolled at higher education institutions across the country. Under the programme,…
A requirement compelling Tanzania’s mobile operators to list a 25% stake of their companies on the local bourse should help boost equity trading. Vodacom Tanzania, a subsidiary of the South Africa-based Vodacom Group, became the first telecoms operator to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) after the partial sale of its shares was finalised in early August. In early March the operator…
En Français Oxford Business Group’s Africa research comes in several different forms, from business confidence surveys and face-to-face interviews, to monthly sector updates and annual country analyses. Putting all this together takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work. In addition to the time they spend in traffic jams and office lobbies, our field teams in each country spend hours every…
On inclusiveness in the private sector What role is the private sector playing in 2017, and how do you see this developing? ALI MUFURUKI: The central prerogative of the private sector is to have the government be more open to engagement and dialogue – to appreciate the fact that this is a partnership, while understanding that due to the history of our country, such a relationship is complicated.…
In a bid to expand its share of regional trade, Tanzania is investing billions of shillings into a number of transport projects, including a multi-year upgrade of the country’s principal port, the Port of Dar es Salaam. On July 2 President John Magufuli unveiled the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DSMGP), which aims to overhaul Port of Dar es Salaam’s infrastructure by 2023. The…
