Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania

The Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (MeTL) Group, a major conglomerate contributing 2.5% of Tanzania's GDP, faces significant operational barriers in the SADC region, primarily due to unreliable power, poor transport infrastructure, and regulatory uncertainty. MeTL reports that expensive and unreliable electricity makes local goods uncompetitive, with the Confederation of Tanzania Industry estimating annual business income losses of USD 19.6M from power interruptions. To mitigate these issues, MeTL is investing in a container depot near the Port of Dar es Salaam and planning biogas electricity generation from sisal waste. The group advocates for regional industrialization policies to protect strategic industries from competition from India and China, alongside the implementation of a regional Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for infrastructure development.

• MeTL identifies several systemic barriers to business across the SADC region, including corruption, border delays, exchange rate fluctuations, and inadequate infrastructure, particularly regarding access to power.
• Unreliable and expensive power supply significantly reduces the competitiveness of locally manufactured goods. The Confederation of Tanzania Industry estimated that power supply interruptions caused an annual income loss of approximately USD 19.6M for businesses.
• Poor transport infrastructure, including road and rail networks, has directly hindered MeTL's trade obligations, such as a 2011 instance where the company could not supply maize from Malawi to Kenya due to congestion between Nakala and Dar es Salaam.
• MeTL is pursuing private infrastructure investments to overcome regional bottlenecks, including a container depot with a railway siding near the Port of Dar es Salaam and planned electricity generation from sisal waste biogas with a potential capacity of 6-12 MW.
• The company recommends that SADC countries implement industrialization policies to protect strategic local industries from competition from India and China, and suggests establishing a regional PPP framework for infrastructure development.

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} }