The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has recently hosted the 5th Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), which aimed at accelerating regional economic integration and promoting value addition and processing industries to boost exports’ volumes.
The forum took place between March 1st and 2nd, 2016 in Dar es Salaam and was chaired by TIC Executive Director, Mrs. Juliet Kairuki, whom explained that Tanzania and other country members of the SADC remain with high levels of poverty despite their rich natural resources because they are exported without any value added.
This is why extractive industries need to be explored and enhance to create a conducive investment environment and such task must be promoted by the IPAs, which should work together not only to develop regional integration but also to learn from other agencies’ experiences and develop themselves, Mrs. Kairuki added.
Even though all countries keep a common factor that is being developing countries, Tanzania has been highlighted among them and is considered one of the fastest growing economies in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), reason why it was selected as the hosting country to let other countries to benefit from its transformation experience, Mrs. Kairuki stressed.
Tanzania recorded a strong growth of 7.1% in 2015 that was over two times the average growth rate of country members of the SADC due to its vast natural gas resources according to the last World Investment Report released in 2015 by the United Nations (UN).
Despite global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows fell by 16% to USD 1.23 trillion in 2014 from USD 1.46 trillion in 2013, Tanzania’s FDI inflows kept growing and reached a new peak from USD 2.13 billion recorded in 2013 to USD 2.14 billion in 2014.
In addition, FDI inflows to Africa remained almost unchanged at USD 54 billion in 2014 despite a drop on FDI inflows to North Africa since SSA’s FDI inflows’ growth overshadowed it thanks to countries as Tanzania, the leading FDI destination in the East African Community (EAC) according to UN.
Tanzania is the only country simultaneously member of SADC and the East African Community (EAC).