Tanzania Investment Forum Scheduled in Arusha

A two-day Tanzania investment forum has been scheduled to take place in Arusha on December 11 and 12 of this year.

According to the Regional Commissioner, Isidory Shirima, who spoke at a one-day preparatory meeting for the upcoming Tanzania investment forum, this forum will allow business people and investors to have more opportunities to explore some of the areas in the northern zone that are currently untouched.

“For quite some time now many people have been taking Arusha for granted, as they have been viewing it only as a tourist centre,” says Shirima, “so, the coming historic forum will help open up people`s eyes on the matter.”

For locals and foreigners who are interested in Tanzania investment opportunities, the city of Arusha offers much more than tourism investment alone, according to Shirima.

“Many people regard Arusha as a hub for tourism investment potential alone,” says Shirima, “[however] the forum will shed some light on other investment potential that Arusha offers.”

Some of the potential for Tanzania investment in this major city can be found in mining and agriculture and especially in horticulture as well as several other trade and food crops.

According to Shirima, extensive improvements have already been registered in several key sectors, such as tourism, the road network, mining, industries and financial services, which helps to make the municipality more attractive as a hub for opportunities in Tanzania investment.

In addition to this, Shirima emphasized that this forum was important because it would provide an opportunity to strengthen public-private partnerships in the promotion of Tanzania investment opportunities to both local and international investors, which would, in turn, help to strengthen and boost the region’s economic status.

Dunstan Mrutu, the executive secretary for the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), who was also present the one-day preparatory meeting, indicated that participants in the Tanzania investment forum would also have the opportunity to learn more about Tanzania’s investment policies and to air their views and concerns regarding the current policies and procedures.

“The government has a responsibility of preparing policies that are investor-friendly, but, for a long time, businesspeople have been complaining about some of the policies,” says Mrutu, some of those policies will be explored during the forum and participants will also be given the opportunity to comment on how they can be improved.”

Preceding this forum will be an exhibition of various trade items that have been manufactured in Arusha and in the neighboring Kilimanjaro and Manyara regions.

The Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda, is expected to attend the opening ceremony for the event.