The News
Tanzania is counting on increased investment to accelerate industrialization and create jobs for its young population, the prime minister said.
The government has targeted $15 billion in annual foreign direct investment, roughly triple last year’s figure, as part of its long-term economic plans.
Mwigulu Nchemba, speaking on the sidelines of an investment forum in London, said the government had put money into rail and port infrastructure, as well as expanding power generation to create an industrial base. This was on top of cutting the cost of doing business, and strengthening supply chains.
Nchemba said increased industrialization would boost local processing of natural resources leading to more employment opportunities. Tanzania, like many African countries, has a rapidly expanding population. The UN estimates 42% of people are aged 14 or under. The prime minister said the path to creating work for all the country’s school leavers rests on developing the private sector through investment.
“There is no way you can absorb all those graduates,” the prime minister told reporters. “The only way you can solve the issue of job creation is by empowering the private sector to create those vacancies for our youth.”
Know More
Tanzania has large offshore gas resources and deposits of minerals needed for the energy transition and digital infrastructure — such as copper, lithium, and cobalt — as well as precious metals and stones, including gold and diamonds.
In August, the country commissioned a 2,115 MW hydropower plant that more than doubled its electricity generation capacity and created a surplus that officials said could support power exports and industrial growth.
Tanzania, like governments across the continent, is looking for ways to add value locally instead of raw minerals exports.
In neighboring Kenya, President William Ruto has focused on job creation through industrialization as a key plank in his campaign to secure a second term in next year’s election.
Notable
- Liquefied natural gas development offers Tanzania its most obvious means of monetizing its giant gas reserves after the wars in Ukraine and Iran upended global energy markets, wrote Neil Ford in African Business.