Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania

This case study examines the operations, challenges, and strategic investments of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (MeTL) Group, a large conglomerate operating across Tanzania and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

• Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (MeTL) Group is a major Tanzanian conglomerate with 25 companies across 11 sectors, including energy and petroleum, agriculture, and financial services. As of 2011 estimates, the group employs over 24,000 people and contributes 2.5% of Tanzania’s GDP.
• MeTL faces significant operational barriers across the SADC region, most notably unreliable and expensive power, which renders locally manufactured goods uncompetitive against imports from countries with lower energy costs. The Confederation of Tanzania Industry estimated that power supply interruptions caused an annual income loss of approximately USD 19.6M for businesses in July 2011.
• The company identifies several other systemic barriers to trade in the SADC region, including corruption, border delays, inadequate road and rail infrastructure, and exchange rate fluctuations. Specifically, MeTL notes an acute shortage of foreign currency in Malawi and Mozambique, where a gap between official bank rates and black market rates disadvantages firms using formal channels.
• To mitigate infrastructure gaps, MeTL has invested in a one-stop container depot near the Port of Dar es Salaam to shift traffic from road to rail and plans to generate 6-12 MW of energy from sisal waste biogas using seven decorticators.
• MeTL recommends that SADC countries implement industrialisation policies to protect strategic local industries from competition from India and China. They also advocate for a regional PPP framework for infrastructure development and a harmonised position paper to grow the regional textile industry.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2012). Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/mohammed-enterprises-tanzania/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania. 2012. https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/mohammed-enterprises-tanzania/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania |date=24 July 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/mohammed-enterprises-tanzania/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2012mohammed, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/saiia-toolkit/mohammed-enterprises-tanzania/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }