Forum touts private sector’s role on economic growth


The government is committed to promote the private sector as the engine for growth of the economy but the sector has not been up to the challenge, it was said in Dar es Salaam.

Investment and Empowerment Minister Mary Nagu

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Investment and Empowerment), Dr Mary Nagu, said despite a number of reforms adopted to support development of the private sector, the business community was taking time to lead in its role of propelling growth.

“Since when the government declared the private sector to take seat in driving growth of the economy, it has taken time for the sector to take up the challenge,” Ms Nagu told the business community at a forum on expansion of venture capital and private equity investment financing.

She said the private sector should improve their competence and performance in the sectors in which Tanzania has comparative and competitive advantage to be able to be the real engine of growth. “We need to change our mindset to grow.

The government encourages and sometimes pushes the private sector to take up their role,” she said. The Chairman of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), Dr Reginald Mengi, called on his fellow business people to “think big” to prosper in the business and become the engine of growth in the economy.

“This seminar is about thinking big…we are facing changing circumstances which need us to think big…I would like this concept to cut across from smallest to biggest business operator,” he said.


Dr Mengi, a local media mogul, said the business community needed a change of mindset to be able to tap enormous resources of the country for their development.

“We have everything it takes to be rich but the mindset has to change,” he said. In his opening remarks, the TPSF Executive Director, Mr Geoffrey Simbeye, said the access to finance was the main hindrance to the efforts to upscale local private sector investments.

“Access to finance is the biggest challenge. It is number one challenge of doing business in Tanzania,” he said. He said there was need to promote venture capital and private equity investment in Tanzania to upscale private sector investment.

Mr Simbeye said strong economic growth, political stability and the commitment of the government to promote the private sector were among the opportunities for the growth of the sector and increase its investments.

By HENRY LYIMO, Tanzania Daily News

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