Tanzania has about 70 million people, steady growth of around 6% a year, inflation inside the central bank's target and the port that serves seven landlocked neighbours. It also has one of Africa's biggest undeveloped gas projects and record gold exports. The catch is that the money has been slower to arrive than the announcements: actual foreign investment was about $1.7 billion in 2025, the LNG deal is still unsigned, and the October 2025 election left a lasting mark on relations with Washington and Brussels. Here is what the data says, where the openings are, and what to check before you commit.
This guide is for companies setting up or expanding in Tanzania. For the wider economy see Tanzania's economy in figures. Kenya next door is the bigger market for digital and consumer businesses, and our Kenya investor guide shows how the two compare.
For resources, ports and logistics, the case is strong and several big projects are close to decisions. For anything that needs quick government approvals or a calm political backdrop, it is a patient market. The economy is steady: growth is about 6%, inflation is inside the central bank's 3% to 5% target and the IMF programme finished on track in July 2026. But President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the October 2025 election with about 98% of the vote after the main opposition parties were blocked, and the unrest that followed killed at least 518 people according to an official inquiry. The United States has been reviewing the relationship ever since. Investors already in Tanzania are mostly staying. New investors are asking for firmer terms before they sign.
Election and unrest. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared winner of the 29 October election with about 98% of the vote, after the main opposition parties were barred. Protests were met with force and the internet was shut down.
US review. The US State Department said it was comprehensively reviewing its relationship with Tanzania, citing the violence, religious freedom and obstacles to US investors. The European Parliament had already called for direct EU support to be suspended.
Higher minimum wages. A new wage order raised private sector minimum wages from 1 January, by about a third on average, with different rates for 15 industries.
Inquiry report. A commission led by a former chief justice put the death toll from the post-election unrest at 518. Critics said the process lacked transparency.
Budget and Senate bill. The 2026/27 budget took effect on 1 July. In June the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill (S.4577) that would allow sanctions and a review of aid. No floor vote had been reported by early November.
IMF programme ends. The IMF board completed the final reviews and released $443.9 million. The same month the Bank of Tanzania raised its rate by half a point to 6.25% as fuel prices rose.
Deals slip. Lifezone Metals moved the Kabanga nickel decision to the first quarter of 2027 while it renegotiates its framework agreement. Equinor said disruption to Gulf gas supply strengthened the case for Tanzania LNG, but the talks were still unfinished.
LNG talks close in. The finance minister told Reuters on 13 October that Tanzania was almost there on the $42 billion LNG deal. Definitive agreements remain unsigned. The central bank held its rate at 6.25% on 7 October.
Opposition leader jailed. A High Court acquitted Chadema leader Tundu Lissu of treason but convicted him of incitement and sentenced him to four years. Rights groups called the case political. Compare inflation across Africa and safety across Africa.
What could the political fallout, a slower LNG timetable and the next move in the shilling mean for your sector, your financing and your timeline?
We track official releases, field contacts and our own polling. The exposure depends on what you sell, where you build and who funds it, so we answer it on a call.
A young, fast growing and still mostly rural market. Tanzania has about 70.5 million people, more than four in ten are under 15, and only about 37% live in towns. Households spent about $45.6 billion in 2025. Six in ten adults have a bank or mobile money account and there are more mobile subscriptions than people, but only about a third of the population uses the internet and about half have electricity. The labour force of about 34 million is large, and minimum wages were raised in January 2026.
Tanzania sets private sector minimum wages by industry. The order that took effect on 1 January 2026 raised them by about a third on average, to an average of about TZS 358,000 a month, and employers in industries without their own rate must pay at least TZS 175,000. Check the rate for your own industry in the order. See minimum wage in Tanzania. Only about 2% of adults over 25 hold a bachelor's degree, so most employers train their own technicians and managers. See education in Tanzania.
Kiswahili is the national language and is spoken almost everywhere, which makes one marketing message work across the whole country. English is used in business, law and higher education.
Tanzania is a volume market. Per head incomes are low, so winning products are cheap, small-pack and sold through mobile money, kiosks and wholesalers. Dar es Salaam holds the most spending power, with Dodoma, Arusha, Mwanza and Zanzibar behind it. The population also brings a second pitch: a growing workforce for factories that export to the East African Community. Kenya is richer per head and further along digitally. See the Kenya guide for the comparison.
Who exactly buys in your category, in which cities and regions, and at what price?
We answer this with our own survey panel and field interviews across Tanzania's regions, in Kiswahili.
UNCTAD counted about $1.7 billion of inflows in 2025, up 4% on 2024 and almost identical to 2023, or about 1.9% of GDP. That is about half of what Kenya received. The investment authority tells a bigger story: it registered 3,538 projects worth $68.6 billion between 2021 and 2026. Registrations are what investors say they will spend, not what has arrived, and the gap between the two is the first thing to understand about this market.
The UK leads the stock, and some of that is holding companies for resource projects. Norway is Equinor, the operator of the Lindi gas licences. Mauritius, the Netherlands and Barbados are routing points, so the real owner is often elsewhere. See who invests in Africa.
On the authority's own registrations, China leads with about $14.1 billion of registered capital since 2021, and in April to June 2026 China accounted for $3.14 billion of $3.38 billion registered in the special economic zones. These are intentions, not spent money. India's Adani and Dubai's DP World also operate port terminals, and neither shows up clearly in the survey.
Which foreign operators are already active in your sector, and who has entered or left in the last two years?
We map competitors, recent entrants and exits by sector and region. That list is part of every market-entry brief.
Tanzania's main tools are registration with the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA), duty relief on capital goods, and special economic zones for exporters. The corporate tax rate is 30% and VAT is 18%. A new foreign or joint venture project needs about $500,000 of capital to register. The important catch is that a tax incentive only works if the tax laws themselves provide for it, so an incentive named in the investment law can still be unavailable. Changes in 2025 also removed the long income tax holiday for zone companies that sell into the local market.
| Programme | What it offers | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| TISEZA registration | One registration, replacing the old Tanzania Investment Centre and Export Processing Zones Authority, which merged on 1 July 2025. It gives access to incentives and a one-stop service. The minimum capital is about $500,000 for a foreign or joint venture project, and some law firms quote TZS 1.5 billion. | TISEZA |
| Duty relief on capital goods | A reduced import duty on capital goods for registered investors, with a list of excluded products. Check the current rate for your equipment in the Finance Act. | TISEZA and the Tanzania Revenue Authority |
| Export processing zones | An income tax exemption for the first ten years, but only where exports go outside Tanzania, and relief from customs duty and VAT on capital goods and raw materials. Sales into the local market lose the exemption. | TISEZA and the Tanzania Revenue Authority |
| Mining framework agreements | Large mining investors can negotiate a framework agreement with the government, and the 2026/27 Finance Bill added a legal route to tax exemptions for holders, subject to Cabinet approval. | Ministry of Minerals and Ministry of Finance |
| Dividend and listing rules | Dividends paid to non-residents face 10% withholding tax, or 5% from a company listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, unless a tax treaty gives a lower rate. A newly listed company pays 25% corporate tax for three years instead of 30%. | Tanzania Revenue Authority and the Capital Markets and Securities Authority |
| Market access | Duty-free access to the other East African Community members, and membership of the Southern African Development Community and the African Continental Free Trade Area. | Ministry of Industry and Trade |
| Zone | Where | Best known for |
|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Mkapa SEZ | Dar es Salaam | Light manufacturing and logistics close to the port, one of five zones launched in August 2025 |
| Kwala | Kibaha, Pwani region | A planned industrial and dry port zone in Kibaha, about 40 hectares |
| Bagamoyo | Pwani region, north of Dar es Salaam | A planned eco-maritime city, with a reported $3 billion commitment from China's Hongwang group, still an announcement |
| Buzwagi | Kahama, Shinyanga region | Tanzania's first dedicated mining hub, about 1,300 hectares on a former gold mine |
| Nala | Dodoma | A dry port zone of about 600 hectares in the new capital |
Which zone and incentive fit your project, which ones can you actually claim under today's tax laws, and what is the package worth over ten years?
The answer depends on your sector, your export share and how you structure the capital. We check the tax law, not only the investment law, and run the numbers with you before you choose a structure.
Day to day life and business in most of Tanzania are calm, and the country has avoided the civil conflict seen in some neighbours. The risk is political and contractual rather than military. The 2025 election damaged trust between the government, foreign partners and parts of the private sector, and large deals with the state take years. The US State Department's 2026 investment climate statement says investors report very limited progress in rebuilding trust between the private sector and the government. Investors who plan for slow approvals, shilling payments and political risk do operate profitably. These are the problems investors raise most.
| Roadblock | How serious | What it looks like | What investors do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Politics and relations with the West | High | At least 518 people died in the unrest after the October 2025 election, the United States is reviewing the relationship, and its Senate committee has passed a bill that would allow sanctions. The opposition leader was jailed on 6 November 2026. Moody's rates Tanzania B1, as of February 2026. | Take political risk insurance, keep contracts under international arbitration, check sanctions and visa exposure, and watch the US review and AGOA, which is due to expire on 31 December 2026. |
| Slow, renegotiated deals with the state | High | The LNG framework was signed in June 2022 and definitive agreements were still unsigned in November 2026. Lifezone's Kabanga nickel decision moved to Q1 2027 while its framework agreement is renegotiated. In 2024 Tanzania settled the Wigu Hill mine seizure with Montero Mining for $27 million. | Price in years, not months, agree dispute clauses early and use development banks and political risk cover. |
| Currency and payment rules | Medium | The shilling lost about 6.7% against the dollar over the year to September 2026. Foreign reserves are above $6 billion, or 4.3 months of imports. Regulations require most domestic transactions to be priced and paid in shillings. | Earn dollars through exports where you can, hedge the rest, and renegotiate any dollar contract with a local customer. |
| Tax incentives that exist on paper | Medium | Tanzania only honours a tax incentive that is written into the tax law itself. The 2025 Finance Act ended the long income tax holiday for zone companies that sell locally. | Ask your adviser to match every incentive to a section of the Income Tax, VAT or Customs Act before you model returns. |
| Expensive local credit | Medium | Lending rates are around 15%, and private credit grew 32.5% in the third quarter of 2026. Fuel and transport inflation have pushed prices up this year. | Fund the project from abroad, and keep local working capital short. |
| Infrastructure and logistics | Lower | Only about half of people have electricity, rail freight on the old TAZARA line is under half a million tonnes a year, and most cargo still moves by road. The port, the standard gauge railway and the EACOP terminal at Tanga are all being built or rebuilt. | Choose sites near Dar es Salaam, Pwani or the railway, plan for backup power, and watch the new terminals. |
Which city, region and zone suit a project like yours, and how exposed are you to the political and contract risks above?
Regions differ in power, land, labour and the speed of local approvals. We compare shortlisted options side by side for your sector and update the risk picture as it changes.
Most foreign investors follow the same sequence. Company registration and the TISEZA certificate are routine. Bringing in capital, land, permits and sector licences take longer, and you must disclose where your money comes from.
Mining, oil and gas have local content rules, including joint venture requirements for some suppliers under the 2025 mining amendment. Confirm early whether your activity is reserved or needs a local partner.
Most foreign investors set up a private limited company with the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA). You will be asked to disclose the source of the funds and the real owners.
Register the project with TISEZA to qualify as an investor. For a foreign or joint venture project the capital threshold is about $500,000. The one-stop centre handles most approvals.
Get a tax identification number from the Tanzania Revenue Authority and register for corporate tax at 30% and VAT at 18%.
Open a bank account and bring the capital in through it, and keep the transfer records. They are what you will need later to send dividends and capital home after withholding tax.
The Immigration Services Department issues residence permits. Class A is for self-employed investors, Class B for foreigners employed in a company in listed professions, and Class C for other categories. Plan for several weeks.
Land belongs to the state. Foreign investors normally get a lease, a derivative right through TISEZA, or a plot in a zone from the developer. You will also need an environmental certificate from the National Environment Management Council and any sector licence.
Head offices, banks, the port and the biggest consumer market. It took 77 of the 243 projects registered in April to June 2026, worth $946 million.
Factories, the Kwala and Bagamoyo zones and the Sino-Tanzania industrial park west of Dar es Salaam, plus the graphite projects around Morogoro on the railway.
A port city, and the site of the EACOP crude oil terminal at Chongoleani, where the storage tanks were about 94% complete in October 2026.
The south, and the planned LNG plant site at Lindi. Nothing is built yet, so contractors and suppliers should wait for the final decision.
The Lake Zone gold belt, the Buzwagi mining hub at Kahama, and the end of the standard gauge railway, where the Mwanza to Isaka section was about 69% complete in March 2026.
Safari and beach tourism. Zanzibar has its own government and investment authority, so its rules differ, and its economy grew 6.8% in the first half of 2026.
How long does each step take in practice, what does it cost, and which steps can run at the same time?
Timelines depend on the sector, the region and how you bring in capital. We give you a realistic plan for yours.
The strongest cases build on Tanzania's gas, gold, port and farmland. These six stand out in the data, with the gas and mining stories still depending on government decisions.
Equinor and Shell lead Tanzania LNG at Lindi. The suppliers and contractors who benefit come after a final investment decision. See the deep dive below.
Held back: when the agreements are likely to be signed, and what the local content plan will ask of suppliers.
Gold is about 47% of goods exports. Graphite output was about 75,000 tonnes in 2025, nickel at Kabanga is waiting on a decision in 2027, and the government wants processing done at home.
Held back: which licences and framework terms are realistic, and which projects have financing.
DP World and Adani run container terminals at Dar es Salaam, the berths are being expanded from 12 to 22, and the standard gauge railway and the TAZARA revival ($1.4 billion, Chinese-led) feed the interior. The EACOP terminal at Tanga is close to finished, but first oil has slipped to mid 2027.
Held back: which warehousing, trucking and inland depot projects need partners.
Building materials, food and drink, plastics and steel serve a fast growing home market and the East African Community. Exports of goods and services rose 16.4% to $20.2 billion in the year to August 2026.
Held back: which products win at Tanzanian prices, and the real cost of power and inputs.
Safaris on the northern circuit and the beaches of Zanzibar. Tourism receipts help support the shilling, and Zanzibar grew 6.8% in the first half of 2026.
Held back: which lodge, hotel and airport-linked sites have clean land title.
Agriculture is about 23% of GDP. Avocado exports reached 52,000 tonnes and $97 million, and processing of cashew, sunflower, coffee and fruit captures more of the value at home.
Held back: which crops and regions have the supply, and the export rules and prices for each.
Offshore Tanzania holds large gas discoveries, mostly in Block 2 off Lindi, where Equinor has worked since 2007. The plan is an onshore liquefaction plant near Lindi that exports most of its gas to Asia and keeps some for Tanzania. Officials say the commercial, tax and revenue-sharing talks are largely done, and lawyers are finishing the host government agreements and the legislation that goes with them. Equinor has argued since August 2026 that disruption to Gulf gas flows makes a Tanzanian source more valuable to buyers.
The investment case for outsiders is the supply chain. A project of this size needs construction, marine services, engineering, camps, logistics and local suppliers for years. Tanzania has set up a team to write a local content strategy, and its state oil company is also looking at gas links to Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique.
Works: the agreements get signed and ratified by Parliament, a final investment decision follows, and the partners secure buyers and lenders. The finance minister said in October that Tanzania was almost there, and he expects major agreements to be finalised in the coming months.
Sinks it: more delay. The target for definitive agreements was missed in June 2026, and the project has seen announced progress before. The legislation, ratification and the final decision all still lie ahead, and a business-friendly law matters as much as a signature. A final decision does not mean the first cargo is near, since a plant this size takes years to build. Contractors who commit capital before that decision carry the risk.
Which package, tier and partner puts you on the supplier list before the final decision, and what will the work be worth?
We track the agreements, the local content rules, the operators' procurement plans and the likely contractors, and we size the work for your segment. That is the core of a sector brief.
China is the largest source of registered investment capital in Tanzania, with about $14.1 billion registered with TISEZA between 2021 and 2026, and Chinese firms are the main builders of railways, roads and industrial parks. The biggest recent deal is the 30-year TAZARA railway concession signed in September 2025 with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, worth $1.4 billion, with a three-year construction phase and groundbreaking on training and other facilities in July 2026. In August 2026 the state-owned Henan Yudi Mining signed a project of about $100 million to mine graphite in Morogoro, with Tanzania taking a 17% free-carried stake, and a target of 50,000 tonnes a year. In April to June 2026 China accounted for $3.14 billion of the $3.38 billion registered in the special economic zones, which includes a reported $3 billion commitment at Bagamoyo. Those are registrations and announcements, not money spent.
What Chinese investors ask us most is practical: how to pay for imports and send profits home, how the shilling-payment rule affects dollar contracts, how long land and TISEZA approvals take, how to set up the mining joint venture rules, and what the US review of Tanzania's relationships, which includes a proposed look at China's activity there, could mean for exports to the United States. These are the questions our research team answers.
Is there room for your product, at your price, and who should you partner with?
We size the market, test prices with real buyers through our survey panel, and vet local partners before you sign anything.
Yes, in most sectors. A new foreign or joint venture project needs about $500,000 of capital to register with TISEZA, and you must disclose the source of funds. Mining, oil and gas carry local content rules, including joint venture requirements for some suppliers, and foreigners cannot own land outright, so they lease it or take a derivative right.
The economy is steady, with growth of 5.9% in 2025, inflation of 4.3% in September 2026 and a central bank rate of 6.25%. Large openings in LNG, gold and ports are real, but foreign investment was only about $1.7 billion in 2025, big deals are slow, and the October 2025 election damaged relations with the United States and the EU. It suits patient investors with political risk cover.
Most of the country is calm and operating normally, but the unrest after the 29 October 2025 election killed at least 518 people according to an official inquiry, and the opposition leader Tundu Lissu was jailed for four years on 6 November 2026. The United States is reviewing its relationship with Tanzania. Investors check travel advice, insure against political risk and keep contracts under international arbitration.
The corporate income tax rate is 30%, and VAT is 18%. Dividends to non-residents face 10% withholding tax, or 5% from companies listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, and tax treaties can reduce it. Newly listed companies pay 25% for three years. Tax incentives only apply if the tax law itself allows them.
Foreign investors can normally send dividends and capital home through a bank after paying withholding tax, as long as the capital was brought in and recorded through the banking system. Domestic transactions are required to be in shillings, and the shilling has weakened about 6.7% in the year to September 2026, with reserves above $6 billion. Agree the payment route with your bank early.
TISEZA, the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority, replaced the Tanzania Investment Centre and the Export Processing Zones Authority on 1 July 2025 under the Investment and Special Economic Zones Act, 2025. It registers investors, runs the one-stop centre and develops the special economic zones.
The $42 billion project, led by Equinor and Shell, has no final investment decision. A preliminary host government agreement framework was signed in June 2022, and the finance minister said on 13 October 2026 that Tanzania was almost there. Definitive agreements, legislation and parliamentary ratification are still needed before a decision.
Gold is the largest, with exports of about $5.6 billion in the year to August 2026, and graphite output reached about 75,000 tonnes in 2025. The Kabanga nickel project, valued at about $942 million, expects its final investment decision in the first quarter of 2027. New rules require joint ventures with Tanzanian suppliers, and large projects negotiate framework agreements with the government.
Yes. China leads the registered capital at about $14.1 billion between 2021 and 2026, including the $1.4 billion TAZARA railway concession and a roughly $100 million graphite project in Morogoro signed in August 2026. Many registered amounts are plans, not money spent.
Tanzania has more people, 70.5 million against Kenya's 57.5 million, and lower inflation, 4.3% against 7.3%. Kenya attracted about twice the foreign investment in 2025, $3.2 billion against $1.7 billion, and is stronger in digital services and finance. Tanzania's case is gas, gold, ports and a large home market. See the [Kenya guide](/invest/kenya).
Public data gets you to a shortlist. The decision needs answers specific to your product, your budget and your timeline. These are the questions we answer for investors on a first call:
Prefer email? Write to investors@pollsafrica.com.
Every figure on this page comes from an official statistics office, an international body, or a report that cites one. Dates show when each figure was published or last updated. Politics and the big LNG and mining decisions are moving, so check the latest before you commit. This page is general information about Tanzania's economy and is not investment, legal, tax or security advice.