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Doing business & staying in touch

Normal courtesies should be shown when visiting local businesspeople. Almost all executives speak English. Lightweight suits are usually expected to be worn for meetings. Appointments are generally necessary.

Office hours: 

Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1400-1630; Sat 0800-1230.


Economy: 

Agriculture employs around 80% of the working population and cash crops are one of the country's main export earners. There is an expanding mineral sector: diamonds are mined commercially, as are other gemstones and gold. Coal, phosphates, gypsum, tin and other ores are also extracted. Reserves of uranium, nickel, silver and natural gas have been located. The industrial sector is one of the smallest in Africa, concentrated in agricultural processing and light consumer goods such as sugar processing, brewing and textiles. Tourism is thought to be worth around US$950 million annually to the Tanzanian economy.

On the whole, the economy has improved steadily since the mid 1990s. In 2006, Tanzania signed economic agreements with China for development assistance in the communications, transport and health sectors and saw the African Development Bank write off US$640 million of Tanzania's foreign debt. Most recently, with continued help from donor assistance (which accounts for 40% of the government's budget) and a boost from an increase in gold exports, Tanzania's economy has picked up the pace. GDP was a healthy 7.1% in 2008, with inflation estimated to be around 9.5%. While Tanzania's banks had little exposure to the credit crisis of 2008-2009, the knock-on effects of a global recession on demand for Tanzania's exports and its lucrative tourism industry are likely to put a serious dent in any growth potential.
Many of the large hotels in Dar es Salaam and Arusha can accommodate conferences. The Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) has several rooms that can cater for 20-1,000 people, and this has been the site of some historic events of East Africa's modern history including the Rwandan War Tribunals and Burundi peace negotiations.

GDP: 

US$20.6 billion (estimate 2008).

Main exports: 

Gold, cotton, coffee, tea and sisal.

Main imports: 

Petroleum, consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Main trading partners: 

China, India, Netherlands, Japan and Zambia.

Telephone: 

In some rural areas, international calls must go through the operator. There are many public call boxes in post offices and main towns.

Mobile phone: 

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is limited to main urban areas. Local providers, including Zain (Celtel), Vodacom, Tigo and Zantel, offer low-cost SIM cards with local numbers and reasonably priced pay-as-you-go services.

Internet: 

E-mail can be accessed in Internet cafes in main urban areas, which are affordable and efficient. Those in more remote towns that rely on satellite access are a little more expensive.

Post: 

Airmail to Europe takes one to two weeks. Courier services take three working days.

Post office hours: 

Generally Mon-Fri 0800-1300 and 1400-1630; Sat 0900-1200.

Media: 

Until the 1990s, Tanzania's media was largely state controlled. Founding president Julius Nyerere believed TV would increase the divide between rich and poor. It was only in 1994 that the first private station was launched, and in 2001 that state-run TV was first broadcast. There are now several channels as well as DSTV (Digital Satellite Television), a South African subscription satellite channel. Numerous private radio stations are on the air. Although liberalisation laws were brought into force in 2001, these do not apply to Zanzibar, where there are no private broadcasters or newspapers, though many locals can receive mainland broadcasters and read the mainland press.

Press: 

• Government-owned Daily News is Tanzania's oldest newspaper.
• Private English-language newspapers The Guardian and This Day.
• Private Swahili-language newspapers Nipashe and Alasiri.
• Private weeklies Business Times, The Express and Arusha Times.

Television: 

• Channels include state-run Televisheni ya Taifa (TVT) and private networks Independent Television, Dar es Salaam Television, C2C Television, Channel Ten and Coastal Television Network.
• TV Zanzibar is state run.

Radio: 

• State-run stations include Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam, Parapanda Radio Tanzania and Voice of Tanzania-Zanzibar.
• There are dozens of private FM radio stations, most of them operating in urban areas.
• Among the private networks are Radio Free Africa, Radio One, Radio Sky, Radio Star and Radio Uhuru.
• News bulletins from international radio stations, including the BBC, Voice of America and Germany's Deutsche Welle, are carried by many stations.

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