Many professionals, myself included, have stories of paying deposits to vendors who disappeared. Of consultants who promised more than they delivered. Of businesses that stopped answering calls after payment was made. Of products that failed to match the marketing. After enough experiences like these, many of us learn to become cautious with one another, and sometimes that hesitation is justified.
Every so often, I hear the same frustration from entrepreneurs, consultants and creatives across Tanzania: "People don't support their own." We accuse each other of being unsupportive and generalise about the unsupportive nature of Wabongo. It's an easy conclusion to reach, but I wonder if we're asking the wrong question. Perhaps the issue isn't that Tanzanian professionals refuse to buy locally, but maybe local businesses haven't yet given them enough certainty to buy from them.
People spend based on trust. We invest in executive education, imported products, international software subscriptions and foreign brands. So, we have the money and the willingness to invest, but perhaps, at times, we simply do not trust one another.
Many professionals, myself included, have stories of paying deposits to vendors who disappeared. Of consultants who promised more than they delivered. Of businesses that stopped answering calls after payment was made. Of products that failed to match the marketing. After enough experiences like these, many of us learn to become cautious with one another, and sometimes that hesitation is justified.
Then there is another force at work that we don't always acknowledge: the status and prestige associated with anything perceived as foreign or Western. Saying you completed a course at a globally recognised institution or worked with an international consultancy signals premium quality, credibility and expertise.
Consumer behaviour research has long shown that people don't buy products solely for their functional value. They also buy what those products communicate about them. That helps explain why someone may eagerly import a foreign product while overlooking a comparable local alternative. I'm not blaming colonialism for every purchasing decision, but history leaves cognitive footprints. The institutions we trusted, the brands we admired and the expertise we were taught to value continue to influence our choices, often in ways we scarcely notice.
Then there is the "familiarity trap." The same consultant who commands respect in Dodoma may struggle to charge appropriately in Mwanza, where everyone remembers her from school. Familiarity changes perception. Instead of seeing an expert, people see someone they already know, and they judge and negotiate differently with those they feel familiar with.
Collectively, these dynamics create a difficult environment for Tanzanian entrepreneurs, yet they also point us towards a more productive conversation.
Instead of asking why people don't support local businesses, perhaps we should ask what makes businesses trustworthy in the first place.
Research consistently shows that trust is one of the strongest drivers of purchasing decisions. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer found that business remains the world's most trusted institution, while consumers increasingly rely on trusted brands to provide confidence in uncertain environments. In South Africa, trust in brands has risen sharply in recent years, with 84 percent of consumers saying they trust the brands they regularly use to do what is right.
Perhaps we've been framing the problem incorrectly. People aren't choosing foreign brands because they're foreign. They're choosing them because they feel predictable. They trust the quality will be there. They trust the service will be there. They trust the product will do what it promised to do. Once you understand that, you stop taking it personally and start looking at what you can control. The goal isn't to convince people to support local out of loyalty. Loyalty might earn you a first sale, but only reliability earns you a second. The future of Tanzanian businesses won't be won by asking people to buy local. It will be won by becoming the most trustworthy choice in the room. Reliability—not nationality—is the competitive advantage.
