OVER 500 local entrepreneurs, MSMEs and corporates are expected to engage with the visiting business delegates from the US in the next seven days.
The trade mission between local entrepreneurs and the US trade mission, organised by Equity Bank Tanzania, is among the many tools the lender using to accelerate implementation of the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan (ARRP).
According to a press statement issued, 10 US delegates representing various institutions are set to engage with the local entrepreneurs, MSMEs and corporates through organised panel discussions, one on one business networking sessions and site visits to businesses in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) Director of Policy, Advocacy and Membership Management, Outreach and Capacity Building, Mr Zachy Mbenna said they are looking forward to positive engagements that will lead to business realisation.
“Our interactions during this trade mission are critical as this will enhance knowledge exchange, enabling us to meet needs of the immediate market and the global trends in consumer behaviour,” Mr Mbenna said during the trade mission launching ceremony on Monday.
The TPSF director also urged the attending delegates to explore Tanzania for investment areas and tap into agriculture and logistics with additional investment opportunities in tourism, the MSME sector and mining.
Equity has collaborated with the East African Business Council (EABC), Minnesota Africans United, Global Minnesota and Prosper Africa, a US government initiative that connects US and African businesses with new buyers, suppliers, and investment opportunities.
Earlier this year, Equity Group launched the ARRP, a socio-economic transformation plan that Equity has seeded with a 7.0 billion US dollars fund to impact 100 million people within Africa through its financial and social impact initiatives and reach five million MSMEs and 25 million individual customers, to create 50 million jobs.
This trade mission is among the many initiatives that the Equity Group through its regional banking subsidiaries in six countries has put in place to accelerate the implementation of the ARRP and to champion the sustainable building back better of the African continent post the Covid-19 pandemic.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania Board Member Burak Buyuksurac said they appreciated the efforts by Equity to organize the trade mission.
“We believe that this will lead to the creation of more business opportunities between Tanzania, Kenya and the US,” the board member said.
The visiting delegates are keen on working with local businesses to either set up shop in Tanzania or sign export/import agreements for local materials and finished goods.
Equity Bank Tanzania Managing Director, Ms Isabela Maganga said investment in trade will not only empower the East African Community people, but will also build its economy.
“A growing economy means improved lives and livelihoods,” Ms Maganga said.
Tanzania has massive potential in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, energy, tourism, transport and logistics among many other sectors.
Equity Group Director of Corporate Banking, Mr Raphael Onyango said the lender as a Pan African bank has purposed to champion the build back better of the African continent through implementing the ARRP.
“This trade mission to Tanzania and Kenya will capacitate, coordinate and champion business connections between USA and Tanzania and Kenya,” he said.
