TANZANIA’S lubricant market is very huge. CFGT Tanzania Limited Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Christome Tembo, says in Tanzania’s lubricant business, there are actually a lot of players, both individuals and companies, he told our Correspondent, ISDORY NJAVIKE, yet the market is big and no one player can be said to be big enough to satisfy market demands…
QUESTION: CFGT Tanzania Ltd is known to enlightened members of the business community in Tanzania but less known to ordinary Tanzanians, yet you have a lot to offer to ordinary Tanzanians. I guess I am not grossly wrong, am I?
ANSWER: You are right; the reason is that we are relatively new in the market.
Q. CFGT was established this year, exactly when?
A. CFGT was established in February 2023.
Q. There are people who say yours is a jointly owned public-private company. Is that correct?
A. No that is incorrect. This is a Private Limited Liability Company.
Q. Your admirers say you are one of the good examples of successful private companies with a lean workforce but a company delivering on promises. What do you emphasise on when recruiting workers?
A. Emphasis is put on commitment to service excellence, diligence, sales and marketing skills.
Q. In present Tanzania, labour movement is no longer something strange. People are moving from one company to another in search of what is called ‘greener pastures’. What is your secret in retaining workers?
A. Though we are still new and cannot claim that we have been able to retain our staff, we have in place a proper scheme to ensure that our performing staff is retained. This includes incentives such as an opportunity to participate in ownership of the company.
Q. Now let us focus a little bit on services you provide. You are a major distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants in the market. What has experience revealed so far?
A. Our experience has shown that during our short stay in the distribution aspect, we have been able to perform beyond even the expectations of our partners. Their appreciation of what we have done to the improvement of their brand says it all. Apparently, one of them was out of the market for some time, and it was sort of difficult to sell. But he confirms now that people are well aware that he is back in business and doing well. All this because of our shouts!
Q. You distribute and sell lubricants to owners of vehicles and producers in agriculture, mining and transportation and you say there is a growing demand for quality lubricants in Tanzania. What is your current market share?
A. In the lubricant business, there are a lot of players, both individuals and companies. The market is big, and no one player can be said to be big enough to satisfy market demands. We can only measure ourselves in this area given the number of key staff in existing and experienced distributors who have jumped ship and come to us.
Q. You say there is a growing demand for quality lubricants in Tanzania, is there evidence for this assertion?
A. Statistics suggest that the annual demand for lubricants is 62 million litres while production does not even surpass three million litres. The blenders in the market are only seven and six of them are OMCs, representing their own brands.
Therefore, you will find that any one outsider using these brands for producing lubes will always be suspicious of sabotage. However, you may note that Tanzania has enjoyed economic growth over the past decade. This means that economic activities keep on growing hence the increase in consumption of many goods, including lubes.
Q. Besides lubricant distribution, we are told you are a business process outsourcing company. What does this mean?
A. Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider that, in turn, owns, administrates and manages the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metrics.
Q. At personal level, do you see your company doing very well?
A. As I look at CFGT’s growth since our inception in early 2023, I am extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve. We have managed to offer the best service to our customers. It has been a very good start that should be emulated by everyone who is starting a journey like ours. We have been trusted and supported by our customers of all groups, corporate customers, SMEs and individuals.
This has been a matter of great pride. CFGT is committed to providing unparalleled services to our customers. Among the most important resources for the CFGT are the excellent employees we have.
Our workers are well qualified, professional, experienced and passionate about serving our customers. We endeavoured and succeeded to develop deep relationships with our clients by learning their environment and challenges. By doing so, we are better preparing our people to serve this community of different clusters with great attention and diligence while touching on various important matters that affect their economy in various way
