Investors from Nordic countries happy with reforms: study

REPOA’s Executive Director, Dr. Donald Mmari. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • The survey, which was launched at the Nordic Business Seminar in Dar es Salaam yesterday, shows that companies from the four countries were generally satisfied with the way the government was working on their challenges relating to tax administration, manpower skills and in the processing of work permits by the Immigration department

Dar es Salaam. Investors from Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) that have invested in Tanzania are happy with steps being taken by President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration to improve the country’s business environment.

As such, they are willing to invest more in the country.

This is contained in a Business Climate Survey for Nordic Companies in Tanzania 2022/23 which was conducted by Repoa.

The survey, which was launched at the Nordic Business Seminar in Dar es Salaam yesterday, shows that companies from the four countries were generally satisfied with the way the government was working on their challenges relating to tax administration, manpower skills and in the processing of work permits by the Immigration department.

Currently, it takes only three days for a foreigner to acquire a work permit in Tanzania, a massive reduction from 14 days. Besides, work permit applicants are no longer required to submit academic credentials approved by the National Examinations Council of Tanzania, the National Council for Technical Education and the Tanzania Commission for Universities as it used to be in the past.

“This report highlights many changes and improvements that have taken place in recent years,” the Repoa executive director, Dr Donald Mmari, said during the seminar, yesterday, noting however that there were also some obstacles that the government was being expected to address.

The challenges include some snail pace in offloading of goods and other logistical issues as well as the reliability of electricity. “There is an urgent need for the government to work on these issues,” he said.

Dr Mmari said with the existing competition for investors in the world, it made economic sense for the government to expedite the existing reforms for Tanzania to shine.

Besides, there was also the need for predictability in government laws and policies to enable existing investors to make more and long-term investments as well as invest in upscaling skills of Tanzanians.

According to the survey, in both short-term and long-term future investments, many of the Nordic companies are optimistic about increasing the value of their investment in Tanzania

The report indicated Nordic countries have long been Tanzania’s major development partners, however, private capital flows involving these countries have been relatively limited except for Norway which maintains a substantive interest in Tanzania’s gas sector.

He said notwithstanding, two recent investor surveys suggest that Nordic investments are often long-term, offering insights into how bilateral development can be leveraged for sustained business and investment relations.

Speaking at the event, the Norwegian ambassador to Tanzania Ms Elisabeth Jacobsen said the Nordic private sector plays an active role in creating solutions to tackle climate change and realizing a green future.