Pretoria - There are unlimited investment opportunities for South African businesses in Tanzania, says Louis Accaro, Director of Membership Services at the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF).
He was speaking on the second leg of an Outward Selling and Investment Mission currently underway in Tanzania.
The mission is organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
“The challenges with our infrastructure, the expansion of the new ports and the airport, and power generation amongst others, can be translated into investment opportunities for business people,” said Accaro.
He also emphasised the importance of structuring business engagements and frequent business visits to both South Africa and Tanzania.
“In partnership with the Tanzanian public and private sectors, we would like to share our technology and productive capacity to make a direct and meaningful contribution towards regional integration, economic growth and poverty alleviation in the continent,” he added.
Chief Director of Export Promotion and Marketing at the dti, Zanele Sanni emphasised that South Africa was capable of responding to the challenges as she highlighted the strengths of the visiting business delegation.
“We have a large contingent of participants who have expertise in the infrastructure sector,” she said.
Sanni, who extended an invitation to Tanzania businesses to visit South Africa, urged them to pursue mutually beneficial long-term joint ventures.
She also noted that South African business people present at the seminar were keen to partner with Tanzania and integrate their products and services into the supply chain for some of the major infrastructure projects currently underway.
In light of Tanzania’s discovery of oil and gas, both Sanni and Accaro agreed that the diversification of economies through adding value to raw materials was key to high growth and sustained industrialisation.
The two also emphasised the importance of sound investment in infrastructure development as well as the removal of regulatory barriers that have a negative impact on movements of goods and services.
The first day of the Tanzanian leg of the mission concluded with roundtable discussions that focused on agriculture and agro-processing, energy, mining, electro-technical and capital equipment, infrastructure development, manufacturing, as well as petrochemicals and medical supplies.
A presentation on the Tanzanian investment climate and opportunities was also delivered. – SAnews.gov.za
