Why Dodoma is Tanzania’s best-kept investment secret

DODOMA: WHEN Mzee Mnyamani first heard that the government was moving to Dodoma, he laughed so hard he almost dropped his thermos of uji.

“Who moves from the coast to the desert?” he chuckled. Fast forward a decade, and Mzee’s grandchildren are now managing construction sites, retail chains, and agroprocessing hubs in the once sleepy capital. Dodoma didn’t just rise—it sprinted.

And investors? They’re starting to notice. Dodoma is no longer that place people only passed through to charge their phones on the way to Singida. It’s now a buzzing administrative capital, a growing business hub, and the perfect example of what happens when location meets vision.

Let’s talk opportunity and start with agriculture: Dodoma has over 2 million hectares of arable land. Grapes here don’t just grow, they thrive.

Want to bottle the next Tanzanian wine brand? Start here. Sunflower farming? Even better.

You’re not chasing trends-you’re planting futures. Talk of Real Estate and Housing: The influx of government offices, NGOs, and private sector players has created a hunger for quality housing, hotels, shopping centres, and office space.

ALSO READ: TZ nets 67tri/- investments

Translation? If you build it, they will rent it. Strategic Location: Right at the heart of Tanzania, Dodoma connects easily to the central rail, major highways, and future transport corridors.

That’s logistics made easy. Education and Innovation: With universities, vocational training centres, and a growing tech-savvy youth population, the region offers a labor force that’s young, hungry, and ready to build.

Mzee Mnyamani now sits on his veranda sipping juice, especially grape juice, locally made and watching bulldozers clear land where he once herded goats. His land is leased to a logistics company. His son is in real estate.

His grandson just opened a solar-powered café. His message? “Hii Dodoma sasa ni dhahabu—walio lala wataamka wakiikuta imekwisha chukuliwa.” (Dodoma is now gold-those sleeping will wake up to find it already taken.) So, whether you’re a Tanzanian with capital under your mattress, or a foreign investor tired of crowded cities and overpriced land, the time is now.

Don’t wait until Dodoma is a headline in someone else’s success story. Be the headline.