Tanzanian Delegation Visits EU’s Only Nickel Smelter, Metso Research Center, and Nokia on Day Two of EU-Tanzania Roadshow in Finland

Day two of the EU-Tanzania roadshow in Finland took Tanzania’s delegation on 29 September 2026 to the EU’s only nickel smelter, a mineral-processing research center, and digital companies.

This is the second report in our series on the EU-Tanzania Investment and Business Forum 2026-2027 roadshows, following Day 1 in Helsinki.

The second day of the Helsinki leg was reserved for site visits, with a critical raw minerals group visiting Metso and Boliden and an ICT delegation visiting Nokia, the Finnish Information Security Cluster, and Gofore.

Metso Research Center in Pori: Testing Mineral Processing and Battery Materials

The critical raw minerals group visited the Pori Research Center of Metso (Nasdaq Helsinki: METSO), a global provider of sustainable technologies and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries that supports mining customers from process design and equipment development to parts, wear solutions and technical services.

The center carries out research, testing and product development in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, battery materials and smelting technologies, and with around 180 experts and extensive laboratory and pilot-scale testing facilities it helps mining companies optimize processes, improve efficiency and develop more sustainable production solutions.

Boliden Harjavalta: The Only Nickel Smelter in the EU

The group also visited Boliden (Nasdaq Stockholm: BOL) Harjavalta, described as one of the world’s most efficient copper and nickel production facilities, whose circular economy business model integrates exploration, mining, metal production and recycling.

Harjavalta operates the only nickel smelter in the EU, alongside a copper smelter, a copper refinery, a precious metals refinery and sulphuric acid plants, and its smelting technology is recognized as one of the most energy-efficient available, with exceptionally low carbon and sulphur dioxide emissions.

The nickel matte produced at Harjavalta enables the production of refined nickel with significantly lower CO₂ emissions than the global industry average, and the visit put strong emphasis on safety, environmental performance, operational efficiency and ongoing investments that support sustainable growth and competitiveness.

Nokia in Espoo: Digital Sovereignty and Tanzania’s Cashless Economy

The digital delegation started its day at the headquarters of Nokia (Nasdaq Helsinki: NOKIA) in Espoo, where presentations covered the company’s transformation from a mobile phone manufacturer into a company focused on the AI supercycle and future 6G technologies, as well as its high-performance network infrastructure and its end-to-end network portfolio.

The discussion then turned to digital sovereignty, digital public infrastructure and cybersecurity, and it included Tanzania’s vision of becoming a digitalized society and moving towards a cashless economy, with a look at how Nokia could support these ambitions.

The delegation then attended a high-level ICT and digitalization sector luncheon hosted by Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Ville Tavio, who met Tanzania’s Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Hon. Dr. Pius Stephen Chaya.

Gofore: Digital Public Services Built Around Citizens

In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Finnish Information Security Cluster (FISC), the umbrella organization for the Finnish cybersecurity industry, where the discussion centered again on cybersecurity, digital sovereignty and the European approach of sovereignty by design, which rests on the principles of confidentiality, availability and ownership of data so that organizations and governments keep control over critical digital assets and infrastructure.

The last visit was to Gofore (Nasdaq Helsinki: GOFORE), a Finnish digital transformation consultancy and technology company that helps public sector organizations and businesses design, build and operate digital services, digital public infrastructure, data-driven solutions, cybersecurity capabilities and AI-enabled services.

Gofore presented a roadmap towards a well-functioning digital society and shared Finland’s experience in developing centralized digital systems and services, with a human-centric approach that places citizens’ service needs across their life journey at the center of digital public service delivery.

Next Stop Cesena – Italy: Agribusiness, Digital, and Renewable Energy

The Italian leg of the roadshow starts on 1 October, at Cesena Fiera, and covers agribusiness and agri-food, digital transformation, and renewable energy and power.

The opening session will bring together the Tanzanian side, represented by the Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Hon. Dr. Pius Stephen Chaya, and the Tanzanian Ambassador to Italy, Mbarouk Nassor Mbarouk, and the Italian side, represented by the Central Director for the Italian System and Investment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Fabrizio Lobasso, the Vice-President of Cesena Fiera – Macfrut, Carlo Costa, the Director General of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo, Patrizia Mauro, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Romagna, Carlo Battistini.

In the agribusiness breakout, the speakers from Tanzania will be the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Hon. David Ernest Silinde, and officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tanzania Coffee Board, and the Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade), who will present the investment opportunities and project pipeline in the coffee sector, while the Italian participants will be MACFRUT, FederUnacoma, SIMEST, and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), who will discuss agricultural mechanization and financing solutions, together with the UN agency UNIDO for the coffee programme.

In the digital breakout, the speakers from Tanzania will be the ICT Commission and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, who will present the digital transformation outlook and investment priorities, and the Italian companies taking part in the panel discussion will be Leonardo Group (Euronext Milan: LDO) and Sparkle Group.

In the renewable energy and power breakout, the speakers from Tanzania will be the state utility TANESCO, the Ministry of Energy, the Rural Energy Agency (REA), and Geo Wind Power Tanzania, while the Italian participants in the roundtable on business opportunities will be CDP and RINA Consulting.

A separate roundtable on the Global Gateway Strategy and EU instruments to mobilise private sector capital will bring a European Commission investment officer together with Italian institutions, namely the Mattei Plan for Africa Task Force, the trade promotion agency ICE, CDP, SACE, SIMEST and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), while the Director General of the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA), Gilead J. Teri, and the Executive Director of the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority, Saleh Saad Mohamed, will present Tanzania’s investment priorities.

The day will end with B2B, B2G and B2F matchmaking meetings from 14:30 to 17:30, and the delegation is arriving in Cesena today, 30 September.