Last-Mile Freight & Customs-Tech Service for EAC/AfCFTA Cross-Border SME Exporters

Tanzania is experiencing a record FDI cycle, with inflows hitting USD 1.7 billion in 2024 — the highest level since 2014 — and TISEZA registering USD 3.16 billion in new projects in Q4 2025 alone, more than double the prior-year quarter. The government's 2025 target of USD 15 billion in annual investment is underpinned by the August 2025 launch of five new Special Economic Zones (Nala, Kwala, Buzwagi, BEMC, and BWM Mkapa Expansion) offering land, 10-year corporate tax holidays, and 24-hour building permits. The National Trade Policy (2023 Edition) and TISEZA's One-Stop Facilitation Centre are cutting red tape, while bilateral deals with Russia, Egypt, and a forthcoming EU–Tanzania Business Forum are diversifying the investor base. Key growth sectors are manufacturing, agro-processing, renewable energy, and logistics, though risks include inconsistent tax enforcement, foreign land-ownership restrictions, and post-election political recalibration.

Tanzania's National Trade Policy (NTP 2023 Edition, launched July 2024) explicitly mandates strengthening e-commerce infrastructure, reducing trading costs, and expanding port capacity — creating a formal policy tailwind for tech-enabled logistics intermediaries. TISEZA announced plans to deploy agents at key border crossings by end-2025 to help exporters access regional markets, opening a direct partnership channel for diaspora-linked logistics operators.

Market drivers:

- AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative membership and EAC Common Market access give Tanzania-based exporters preferential entry to 54 African markets

- DSE market capitalisation up 18.35% year-on-year to USD 7.42 billion by March 2025, reflecting growing formal-sector SME activity requiring logistics support

- Tanzania-Egypt Business Forum (July 2026) signed two MoUs and seven Expressions of Interest in trade and logistics, opening new North Africa corridor demand

Risks:

- Kenya-Tanzania EAC border tensions in mid-2025 (new Business Licensing Prohibition Order for non-citizens) introduced corridor uncertainty, though Kenyans were subsequently exempted after bilateral consultations

- Post-election political recalibration and documented protectionist measures could delay permit processing for foreign-owned logistics entities