Tanzania pursues aggressive tourism plans

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
ONCE you visit Tanzania, you really don't feel like leaving so soon. This country just grows on you. Why? Because there's tons of beautiful places, sites, parks and exotic beaches to visit. For example, when I was staying in Zanzibar, I had the pleasure of hanging out at Cholos (see pic below), which is a popular beach bar known by all the tourists. This place is sooo relaxing due to its beach setting and funky layout among the tall beach trees. And that's not all. I'd say TZ has got to be one of the safest countries in all of Africa. Well, that's the general word on the street from talking to other tourists, business peeps, expat hotel staff members, backpackers, etc.
Less is more
Also, you just don't see those crazy (almost shocking) front page horror stories that you read in most other newspapers or see on the idiot box (er TV) in other parts of Africa. I'm serious folks. To me, that's very refreshing. Yes, life isn't perfect here and crime does exist, but not at "those" levels, and the frequency is considerably less. Perhaps it has something to do with the laid back persona of the typical Tanzanian, which, by the way, is well known outside the country. I also noticed this in their police officers, too, which is a good thing. Any how, if TZ keeps up this track record, there's no doubt that Dar will eventually replace Nairobi as the economic hub of East Africa. Heck, have you seen all the construction going on in this city lately? Something's definitely cooking - economically. :-)

Mo' money
Most importantly, the country will be rewarded handsomely where it matters the most: At the ca$h register as tourists the world over flock here to explore its many treasures. Now, judging from this article below, the government is serious as hell about increasing earnings from tourism to the tune of US $3 billion per year starting in 3 years time. Wow, that's some serious coin. :-) As such, this makes yet another excellent Go Africa go! story because it highlights that tourism is going to be an even bigger income earner in the future, which translates into excellent business opportunities for those who cease the moment.

Article: Dar to increase tourism earnings
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Charles Kizigha
The government plans to carry out an aggressive tourism promotion campaign to
increase the earnings from 700m US dollars (about 900bn/-) to 3bn US dollars (about 4tr/-) accrued from the sector a year in the next three years. The campaign will involve advertising the country's tourism potentials on the America TV channels CNN and CNBC and also making sure there are direct flights to Tanzania from the US and Europe.

Minister for Natural Resources & Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe, said this yesterday before flying to the US for a ten-day official visit, where he would hold talks with CNN, CNBC, and Delta Airlines top officials and eventually sign contracts. He is leading a six-man delegation. He said that the government intends to spend 500m/- in the first six months to advertise on CNN and CNBC with an intention of targeting the US and Canada markets.

Prof Maghembe said that Tanzania would display a series of brochures showing the country's tourist attractions at the New York Times exhibition and a presentation will be conducted to selected travel agents and tour operators who feature Tanzania as a tourist destination. He said that the team would hold talks with Delta Airlines officials in Dallas on operating direct flights to Tanzania from the US. The minister said that the
tourism promotion is being carried out simultaneously with hotel expansion programme in order to cope with the anticipated increase of tourists from the current 612,000 a year to one million by 2010.

Bee products buzzing with potential

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
WOW, it's simply amazing the variety and diversity of business opportunities that exist right here in Tanzania; in fact, all of Africa. It truly boggles the mind. Now, according to this short newspaper clipping (see below), Tanzania's bee products possess "unique organic qualities" that rivals the best in the world. Well, I hope some visionary entrepreneurs (local or foreign) take Mr. Pamba's enthusiastic message about said opportunities, and begin to get the wheels of bee commerce in motion. Ya know, this is the kind of story that gives you a "goood buzz" without having to crank open a Kilimanjaro beer. :-) Once again, this is excellent Go Africa go! material. If you have any such stories, please email them to me at MaxTheITpro[at]GMail.com. I assume you know to put an @ in place of [at]. Right? That's to prevent web spiders (robots) from collecting my email address in order to send me junk (er spam), which I don't care to entertain.

Article: Call to exploit the potential of bee products
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Daily News Reporter
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism, Mr. Saleh Pamba, has challenged the country's business community to exploit the export potential of bee products available in Tanzania. Opening a meeting of honey and beeswax stakeholders in Arusha, yesterday, he said that Tanzania's bee products could be the most competitive in the world market due to its unique organic qualities.

Mr. Pamba, however, told the stakeholders that investment is required to improve production technology and marketing. At the moment the production of honey and beeswax in Tanzania is 5,600 and 600 tonnes respectively. This genearates 8.6 million and 1.6 million US dollars. It is estimated that the productive potential of bee products in Tanzania is about 138,000 tonnes of honey and 9,200 tonnes of beeswax per annum.

Mr. Pamba said that many African countries, including Tanzania, have realised that, if made a priority in terms of the allocation of human and financial resources, the beekeeping sector could contribute immensely to poverty eradication and environmental conservation. The meeting was organised under the auspices of ApiTradeAfrica, a business association that will coordinate and stimulate production and marketing of quality honey and other bee products from African countries.

Free business plan toolkit for Tanzanian SMEs

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
THIS is EXCELLENT news...that a Kiswahili business planning toolkit will soon be available for prospective SME owners throughout Tanzania. However, I'm still dismayed that it's so damn hard for women entrepreneurs to get seed money before their businesses can become fully operational. I truly believe that women are BETTER managers of money than MEN simply because they have to manage household finances every day of their lives -- especially in this part of the planet. Are there no NGOs out there that cater specifically to businesswomen on the continent??

To all loans officers at lending institutions throughout Africa: "Come on, YOU can do BETTER than that! Give women the credit they deserve, for crying out loud." (pun intended). Someone should seriously start a bank that caters to women. They'd probably make a killing.
Any how, I feel that this type of news is what Go Africa go! is all about: Highlighting positive business developments on the continent that'll lead to more prosperity. And who can argue with that? Oh, don't forget to take a peek at an earlier post of mine that relates to this topic: Are Online Lending Sites a Threat to Banks?

Article: Business planning toolkit for SMEs in pipeline
By: Beatrice Philemon
Source: The Guardian (Tanzania), 12 Mar 2007, Business & Foreign section, pg ii
The World Bank is funding business plan training tool kit for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania. A manual on business plan writing skills exists in the English language and was recently used by experts from the US to train women entrepreneurs on export trade skills and procedures. Happiness Mchomvu, Project Coordinator of the Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme said last week that World Bank has agreed to support the manual's translation into Kiswahili language in order to facilitate effective communication.

One of the weaknesses that beset SMEs in Tanzania was the inability of its managers to compost bankable business plans. As a result, it becomes difficult for them to access loan from financial institutions. Business plans, she said, help one to visualize goals and introduce basic requirements for credit. It also helps an investor to consider what aspects were needed in order for SME to qualify for a loan. "Business plan shows the bank how well ones own business can survive in future", she said. A business plan begins with a vision, with goals helping an entrepreneur to achieve that vision.

Highlighting on Small Enterprises (SME's), she said SME's have traditionally had a difficult time gaining access to finance. Most small businesses will start with money borrowed or given by family members or with personal savings, and without access to further funds; many businesses are unable to take advantage of opportunities, which can make their business grow. For women entrepreneurs, the challenge is even greater, because in most countries, they are not in full control of the assets they own.

Although it is slowly changing, most women in East Africa will require the signature of their husbands in order to obtain loan, or acquire large assets. These are obstacles to business growth as most commercial banks require collateral as security back up. Furthermore in East Africa, as in other developing countries, women entrepreneurs are usually some of the smallest businesses. For a variety of reasons, only a few of them are able to make their businesses grow.

A 2003 study on women enterprises in Kenya revealed that there were 613,000 women-owned enterprises while in 1999, it was estimated at 1.3 million and in 2002, of those, only some 5 percent or some 65,000 had hired employees. While the informal sector businesses have access to group lending schemes through various NGOs and other specialized institutions, the small women-owned enterprises generally lack support services or access to finance, she noted.

Tanzania to host International Trade Expo

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
AFTER voraciously reading the articles in The Guardian newspaper that I purchased yesterday, I see an enticing advertisement that looks something like this:

East Africa Int'l. Trade Expo

2007 9-12 MARCH, 11 AM - 7 PM

DIAMOND JUBILEE HALL, DAR-ES-SALAAM

Visit the multiple products trade show featuring participants from 24 countries

MED EXPO (Medical & Health)

BUILDING EXPO (Building & Interiors)

ITEL EXPO (IT, Tel & Electronics)

AUTO EXPO (Auto & Spare Parts)

INDCON (Consumer & Industrial)

FOOD EXPO (Food, Kitchen & Hotel)

Info: EXPOGROUP Tel: 0757111552 Email: inq@expogr.com Web: www.expogr.com

Without any hesitation, I quickly called the telephone number above to find out more information. To my pleasant surprise, there were no admission fees whatsoever. This should make it a whole lot easier to convince my friends and their kids to tag along. Most importantly, I decided to attend said event and cover it as a Go Africa go! blogger since this is exactly the type of topical business material that I'm looking for. After all, there'll be excellent business opportunities on display, and I wanted to get the scoop.

Could one involve hemp? :-)

Stay tuned!