Tanzania’s internet boom is creating a data economy

DAR ES SALAAM: A few years ago, internet access in Tanzania was a privilege. Today, it is becoming a basic utility. Phones are everywhere. Mobile data bundles are cheaper. Digital services are no longer limited to cities. From Dar es Salaam to rural districts, more Tanzanians are online than ever before.

This surge in connectivity is not just a telecom success story. It is a data story. And it may quietly become one of the most important drivers of Tanzania’s economic growth over the next decade. Over the past ten years, the number of internet users in the country has more than doubled.

Mobile broadband expansion, smartphone affordability and aggressive network investments by telecom operators have pushed internet access past the 50-million mark. This means more clicks, more searches, more mobile money transactions, more social media activity and more digital footprints created every single day. Each of these actions produces data.

And data, when used well, changes how economies grow. The first visible impact of the country’s digital surge is in consumer behaviour. Businesses are no longer guessing blindly. Every airtime top-up, mobile money payment, e-commerce order, or app download tells a story about what people want, when they want it and how much they are willing to pay. For smart companies, this data is gold.

Retailers can track demand patterns by location and time. Transport firms can predict peak travel hours. Financial institutions can assess risk beyond traditional collateral. Even small businesses selling through WhatsApp or Instagram are learning, informally, what sells and what does not. The second impact is in financial inclusion. The country’s success with mobile money is well known.

But what matters more now is the data generated by these transactions. Millions of Tanzanians who were previously invisible to formal financial systems now have transaction histories. This data can unlock credit, insurance and savings products tailored to real behaviour, not assumptions.

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A boda boda rider with consistent mobile money inflows may be a better credit risk than a salaried worker with irregular expenses. A farmer receiving seasonal payments may need different financial products than a shop owner with daily turnover.

Data allows these distinctions to be made at scale. Third, the digital surge is reshaping how companies make decisions. In the past, many Tanzanian firms relied on intuition, experience, or last year’s numbers. Today, dashboards, real-time reports and customer analytics are slowly becoming standard tools, especially in banking, telecoms, FMCG and logistics. However, this is where a critical gap appears.

While data volumes are exploding, data capability is not growing at the same speed. Many organisations collect data but do not know how to clean it, analyse it, or translate it into strategy. Reports exist, but insights are missing. Decisions are still made first and data is used later to justify them.

This gap is one of the country’s biggest missed opportunities. The country is generating enough data to support smarter pricing, better supply chains, more efficient public services and targeted social programmes. But without skilled analysts, clear data governance and leadership that trusts evidence, the impact remains limited.

The public sector faces a similar challenge. Government agencies now have access to richer datasets than ever before, from telecom usage to digital payments to administrative records. In theory, this should improve planning, service delivery and accountability. In practice, many institutions still struggle with fragmented systems, poor data quality and limited analytical capacity. Data exists in silos.

Definitions differ across departments. By the time reports are produced, decisions have already been made. If the country wants to fully benefit from its digital surge, this must change. Another major implication of rising internet usage is competition. Digital markets reduce barriers to entry.

A small business in Mbeya can now reach customers in Dar es Salaam. A startup can compete with established firms through smart use of data and digital channels. This levels the playing field, but only for those who understand data.

Companies that invest early in analytics will move faster, price better and understand customers more deeply. Those that do not will be disrupted quietly, not by foreign firms, but by local competitors who read the numbers more carefully. There is also a workforce angle.

As data becomes central to growth, demand for skills in data analysis, business intelligence, cybersecurity and digital strategy will rise. This presents a huge opportunity for young Tanzanians, but only if education and training systems adapt quickly.

Teaching people how to use tools is not enough. The real skill is asking the right questions of data and turning answers into action. The digital surge has already happened. The internet users are here. The data is being generated every second. The real question now is simple.

Will the country use this data to drive growth, or will it drown in it? Countries do not become datadriven by accident. It requires investment, leadership and a cultural shift toward evidencebased decision-making.

Tanzania has the raw material. What happens next will determine whether the digital boom becomes a lasting economic transformation or just another impressive statistic.