The Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA) registered 3,538 investment projects worth USD 68.6 billion in the five years from 2021 to 2026.
These are expected to create more than one million jobs, its Director General told editors in Dar es Salaam on 2 November 2026.
The Director General of TISEZA, Gilead Teri, presented the figures at a meeting with editors from various media organisations held in Dar es Salaam on 2 November 2026.
Manufacturing, Transport, Tourism, Agriculture, and Commercial Buildings Lead Registrations
Manufacturing registered the largest number of projects at 1,061, equivalent to 30.0% of the 3,538 projects registered between 2021 and 2026.
Transport followed with 525 projects, ahead of tourism with 335 projects, agriculture with 308 projects, and commercial buildings with 301 projects.
Teri said the registered projects involve local investors, foreign investors, and joint ventures between the two groups.
China, the UAE, and Mauritius Lead Foreign Capital
China leads foreign capital with investments worth USD 14.1 billion, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with USD 5.039 billion.
Mauritius ranked third with USD 2.1 billion, ahead of the United Kingdom with USD 1.6 billion and India with USD 1.5 billion, according to the figures Teri presented.
TISEZA Priorities for 2027
For 2027, TISEZA aims to enable small producers to reach international markets, develop the country’s special economic zones, and strengthen its registration systems to make investment activity easier.
TISEZA, Formed From the Merger of TIC and EPZA
TISEZA was launched on 1 July 2025 under the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Act No. 6 of 2025, which merged the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), established in 1997, with the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), established in 2002.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed Teri, previously Executive Director of TIC, as the first Director General of TISEZA on the same day the authority was launched.
The law requires all investors to register with TISEZA before starting operations in Tanzania, whether or not they apply for fiscal incentives, and makes the authority a one-stop centre for permits and approvals.
In its latest Quarterly Investment Bulletin, TISEZA reported 243 projects worth USD 1.88 billion registered between April and June 2026 under its general investment scheme.
In September 2026, TISEZA was named the Best Investment Promotion Agency in the Africa Region at the AIM Investment Awards held during the AIM Congress 2026 in Dubai.
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