WHY MORE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON PUSHING STARTUPS
What you need to know:
- There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, however, and this hope stems from the recently-concluded Tanzania Startup Association Annual General Meeting in Dar es Salaam, where the government promised to invest in a startup sandbox that will help scale-up the startup ecosystem by providing funds for novel ideas and boosting businesses.
A lot of salutations and praises have been extended to President Samia Suluhu Hassan after she marked one year in office yesterday. All these adulations indeed exemplify and amplify the positive impact that Tanzania’s first female President has had across multiple sectors. However, it is important not to lose sight of what lies ahead across multiple sectors, because the journey has only begun.
From members of the business community in the public and private sector to international investors, there seems to be a unified agreement of satisfaction and hope that the future looks bright and that there are plenty of opportunities to tap into as Tanzania opens up, with the government ready and willing to support investors. This is indeed a positive outlook on the economy and how it will perform in the coming years.
In spite of the merriment, it is prudent that we flip the coin and also look at some of the challenges that remain a stumbling block to investment and further development. For example, a 2021 research conducted by Max Cullevier and Maxine Bayern on most active investors by number of deals in Africa’s startup ecosystem showed that Tanzania is still playing catchup to other active African countries in securing investment deals to the growing startup industry from investors within and outside the continent.
Such a dismal performance, which entailed sealing just one out of 10 deals that were up for grabs shows that the government, in as much as they have made milestones in improving the business sector and ushering in a positive trajectory, more needs to be done in a diverse scale to ensure each opportunity available in the business arena is grasped.
A contrasting look to how our neighbor Kenya performed in the same category shows that Tanzania has a lot to learn. Kenya was able to seal 9 out of 10 available deals, with Uganda and Rwanda each sealing two. What this means for Tanzania is that the hurdles that have been seen as detrimental to investors, such as policy and a less-than-pleasing work ethic; including bureaucracy need to be addressed, lest we remain at the tail-end of things.
Hope for the future
There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, however, and this hope stems from the recently-concluded Tanzania Startup Association Annual General Meeting in Dar es Salaam, where the government promised to invest in a startup sandbox that will help scale-up the startup ecosystem by providing funds for novel ideas and boosting businesses. This is a welcome decision, and one which shows that Tanzania is ready and willing to leap towards the future which is reliant on a robust startup industry where creative ideas are brought to life and provide quick solutions to everyday challenges.
As it has been repeatedly stated, it takes intentional efforts from both the government and private sector players to ensure that Tanzanian entrepreneurs who venture into the creative space where innovation is key have a conducive environment to manifest their capabilities. It is through such dedicated and strategic efforts that we will see more deals coming our way and the world will know of the massive talent that exists within Tanzania’s innovation and creative space.
