Between 28 September and 6 October 2026, the EU-Tanzania roadshow took Tanzanian ministers and agencies to Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium to pitch investment projects to European companies.
The roadshows were the first phase of the EU-Tanzania Investment and Business Forum 2026-2027, whose official platform lets registered companies schedule B2B, B2G and B2F meetings and browse the projects on its Investment Wall, and TanzaniaInvest covered each day of the series.
Each leg had its own focus: critical minerals and digital in Finland, agribusiness, renewable energy and digital in Italy, and agriculture, critical minerals, and transport and logistics in the Netherlands and Belgium.
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A 68-Project, USD 30.1 Billion Pipeline
Tanzania and the EU briefed the private sector in Dar es Salaam in August on a national pipeline of 68 projects worth a combined USD 30.1 billion, of which USD 29.1 billion remains investable, which served as the basis for the three legs (read more).
Days later, at a dialogue on 26 August, Tanzania and the EU agreed to strengthen trade and investment cooperation in support of Vision 2050 (read more).
Finland: Critical Minerals and Digital Economy
Helsinki, Day One: EUR 156 Million EU Package and Mineral Processing Zones
The roadshow opened in Helsinki on 28 September, where the EU and Finland signalled their intent to invest in Tanzania’s critical minerals and digital economy, backed by a new EUR 156 million EU package, while the Finnish financiers Finnvera and Finnfund confirmed they are open to Tanzanian deals (read more).
Tanzania offered entry into graphite, nickel and rare earths processing, the Kabanga Nickel project, data centres, submarine cables, and broadband, and it presented the former Buzwagi gold mine in Kahama, a 1,333-hectare site converted into a special economic zone for mineral processing.
Zanzibar added a telecom gateway PPP and a USD 2.5 million digital hub in the Fumba special economic zone.
Helsinki, Day Two: Nickel Smelting, Mineral Processing Research and Digital Government
On 29 September, a critical minerals group visited Metso’s Pori Research Center and Boliden’s Harjavalta site, home to the only nickel smelter in the EU, while an ICT group visited Nokia, the Finnish Information Security Cluster, and Gofore (read more).
At Nokia in Espoo, the talks covered digital sovereignty, digital public infrastructure, and how the company could support Tanzania’s move towards a cashless economy.
Italy: Agribusiness, Renewable Energy and Digital
Cesena, Day One: Rice, Cashew, Coffee and Energy Projects for Italian Investors
The Italian leg opened at Cesena Fiera on 1 October, where Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that about USD 8.6 billion of foreign investment was registered in Tanzania in the last year, up 56%, and Tanzania put bilateral trade with Italy at about EUR 235 million in 2024 (read more).
TISEZA presented opportunities in rice, cashew processing, of which 90% to 95% still takes place abroad, and coffee, where roasting for export qualifies for a 10-year corporate tax exemption, while the Ministry of Agriculture showcased the USD 137 million Maranje Cashew Industrial Park and a plan to raise grain storage to 3 million tonnes by 2030.
In energy, TANESCO, the Ministry of Energy, and the Rural Energy Agency presented hydropower, solar, transmission, and rural electrification projects, and Italy’s development bank CDP reported advanced talks on about EUR 400 million of projects in energy, rural water, and coffee.
Cesena, Day Two: Post-Harvest, Livestock, AI and Rail Facilities
On 2 October, the agribusiness group visited Apofruit–Almaverde, Martini Group, and Unitec, focusing on post-harvest handling, cold storage, livestock, and fruit processing, while the digital group visited the University of Bologna’s Cesena campus, the DAMA Tecnopolo in Bologna, and the Bologna San Donato railway test circuit (read more).
Netherlands and Belgium: Agriculture, Critical Minerals and Logistics
The Hague, Day One: Agriculture First, With Ports and Railways Close Behind
In The Hague on 5 October, the Netherlands was confirmed as the largest EU investor in Tanzania, the EU cited more than EUR 900 million in grants over 2021-2027, and the Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Hon. Prof. Kitila Mkumbo, named agriculture as the first priority sector for European and Dutch investors (read more).
Tanzania pitched coffee and cashew processing, wheat and edible oils, critical minerals, the new Bagamoyo port as a PPP, and new standard gauge railway lines, while Zanzibar offered the USD 300 million to 400 million Mwambao Railway and the USD 300 million Mangapwani port hub.
On financing, the EIB reported a EUR 60 million loan to the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank for coffee, cashew, and rice, TCX a EUR 150 million EC guarantee to expand local currency lending, and EDFI’s AgriFI facility tickets of EUR 1 million to 5 million still available for Tanzanian agribusinesses.
Rotterdam and Antwerp, Day Two: Port and Rail Openings for European Companies
The roadshow ended on 6 October with port visits at APM Terminals in Rotterdam and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, where the Tanzania Ports Authority and the Tanzania Railway Corporation pitched openings for terminal operators, EPC contractors, private rail operators under the 2023 Open Access Act, and digital rolling stock tracking (read more).
The EU said it will join the World Bank and the EIB, which has received a formal financing request, in supporting the expansion of Dar es Salaam port, and Belgian logistics group Polytra reported that more than 70% of its Copperbelt mineral exports already move through Dar es Salaam.
The agriculture and critical minerals tracks visited Rijk Zwaan, OTC Organics, IHC Mining, and C. Steinweg.
Next Step: High-Level EU-Tanzania Investment and Business Forum in Dar es Salaam in Early 2027
The roadshows are the first phase of a two-phase initiative, which continues with a high-level EU-Tanzania Investment and Business Forum in Dar es Salaam in early 2027, where the contacts made in Helsinki, Cesena, The Hague and Antwerp are meant to turn into concrete investment, trade and financing partnerships.
Across the three legs, European institutions described the financing available to companies investing in Tanzania, from EU guarantees, blending and equity under Global Gateway–the European Union’s flagship initiative to invest in sustainable, high-quality infrastructure and trusted connections worldwide–to Finnvera and Finnfund in Finland, CDP, SACE and SIMEST in Italy, and RVO and the Team Belgium Investment Hub in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Ahead of the Dar es Salaam forum, the official platform’s Investment Wall lists around 50 projects seeking B2B, B2G and B2F partners, in agribusiness, critical minerals, energy, digital, and transport and logistics.
They range from cashew processing, rice and cold chain projects to critical minerals companies such as EcoGraf (ASX: EGR), Helium One (AIM: HE1) and Lifezone Metals (NYSE: LZM), the Kidatu hydropower rehabilitation and the regional power interconnectors, the Kilimanjaro One submarine cable and a Tier III data centre, and the Mtwara-Mbamba Bay and Tanga-Arusha-Musoma standard gauge railway lines.
More information on the forum is available on the European Commission’s forum page.
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