the dti to Lead Black Industrialists Mission to Tanzania |
| A group of Black Industrialists will get an opportunity to seek investment and trade opportunities in Tanzania when they participate in a mission to Dar es Salaam from 15-21 March 2020. The mission is organised and funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) with the aim of assisting the companies explore investment and trade opportunities in Tanzania. The companies are operating in the mining and mineral beneficiation, agri-business, Information and Communication Technology, and energy sectors. According to the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Nomalungelo Gina, the mission is part of the dti’s efforts to assist Black Industrialists who have the capacity and capability to export manufactured products to explore export markets in the rest of the Africa. “Market access is one of the three pillars of the Black Industrialists Programme. Others are capital provision and technical support. As government we are sparing no effort to assist Black Industrialists secure the market domestically, in the continent and globally. This is in line with the programme’s objective of accelerating the quantitative and qualitative increase and participation of Black Industrialists in the national economy, selected industrial sectors and value-chains. This is also part of our efforts to position our Black Industrialists and empower them to be able to take advantage of opportunities that are made available by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” says Gina. In December last year the dti announced that it had had set aside R40 billion to support 400 Black Industrialists for the next five years. Since the inception of the Black Industrialists Programme in 2015, more than 150 Black Industrialists’ projects have been approved for a R4.5 billion grant funding under the Black Industrialists Scheme. the dti has already arranged successful market access missions to Madagascar, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda and Mozambique for the Black Industrialists. “Our focus is deliberately and strategically on the Southern African Development Community countries because we want assist Black Industrialists who have proven themselves in the domestic market to gradually expand their footprint into the region before extending to the rest of the continent and other parts of the globe. Market research conducted by our Trade and Invest Africa Unit points to numerous trade and investment opportunities in the Tanzanian market. One of these is the Special Economic Zones Programme that Tanzania is in the process of rolling out in order to stimulate the country’s manufacturing sector with the aim of producing value-added goods for the export markets,” adds Gina. She adds that the success of the mission will have a positive impact on the South African economy, as it will enable the Black Industrialists to increase their production and create more employment opportunities. They will also increase their contribution in expanding the country’s export basket and foreign revenue. Bilateral trade between South Africa and Tanzania amounted to R7.2 billion in 2019. The trade was heavily dominated by South Africa with exports exceeding R6.8 billion against imports of just over R400 million. South African exports to Tanzania were predominantly in manufacturing, mainly machinery, mechanical appliances, paper, rubber products, vehicles, iron, and steel. On the other hand, imports from Tanzania were mainly gold, coffee, cashew nuts, and cotton. Enquiries: Sidwell Medupe-Departmental Spokesperson Tel: (012) 394 1650 Mobile: 079 492 1774 E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za Issued by: The Department of Trade and Industry Follow us on Twitter: @the_dti |
Share this:
