Cross-Border Freight Brokerage & Last-Mile Cold-Chain Logistics Serving SEZ Tenants and EAC Corridor

Tanzania is experiencing its strongest FDI cycle in over a decade, with inflows reaching USD 1.7 billion in 2024 — a 28% rise from 2023 and the highest level since 2014 per UNCTAD's 2025 World Investment Report. The government has set a USD 15 billion investment attraction target for 2025, prioritising manufacturing, clean energy, transport, minerals, agriculture, and services. Two landmark institutional reforms define the current window: the launch of TISEZA (Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority) on 1 July 2025, which merged TIC and EPZA under a digital One-Stop Centre, and the August 2025 launch of five new SEZs in Bagamoyo, Kibaha, Dodoma, Kahama, and a fifth location, covering 2,100+ hectares with incentives for agro-processing, green energy, and manufacturing. Q4 2025 registered 278 projects worth USD 3.16 billion — more than double Q4 2024 — while Moody's affirmed Tanzania's B1/Stable rating projecting 6% GDP growth. The EU–Tanzania Investment and Business Forum 2026–2027 roadshow (Helsinki, Emilia-Romagna, The Hague) and the February 2026 East Africa Nordic Investment Summit signal strong European pipeline interest. Key risks include inconsistent tax enforcement, land access restrictions for foreign investors, partial EU/USAID aid freeze, and Kenya–Tanzania trade friction from the 2025 Business Licensing Order.

Tanzania Investment Centre registered 842 projects worth USD 7.7 billion in 2024 — the highest since 1991 — with transport among the leading sectors by project count and capital value, creating immediate demand for third-party logistics providers serving new SEZ clusters. TISEZA's bilateral investment cooperation agreement signed with Russia's Roscongress Foundation at SPIEF 2026, combined with the Bagamoyo Port showcase and Air Tanzania's new Moscow route from July 2026, open new freight corridors that require local logistics intermediaries.

Market drivers:

- 842 TIC-registered projects in 2024 worth USD 7.7 billion concentrated in transport and manufacturing, generating captive freight demand for SEZ-linked logistics operators

- Bagamoyo Port and Dar es Salaam PPP projects (combined TZS 182 billion) creating new port-hinterland distribution requirements

- Tanzania's National Trade Policy 2023 edition explicitly targets reduced trading costs, enhanced trade facilitation, and strengthened marketing infrastructure

Risks:

- Kenya–Tanzania border tensions in 2025, including permit restrictions on Kenyan transporters in Namanga and Arusha, expose corridor-dependent operators to sudden regulatory disruption

- High Chinese FDI concentration (USD 950 million in Q4 2025 alone) means state-backed Chinese logistics firms may crowd out smaller European-backed entrants on price