Informal Sector Energy Use in Tanzania

The report analyzes the energy consumption of Tanzania's urban informal sector, focusing on subsectors such as food preparation, beer brewing, grain milling, carpentry, metal working, and auto repairs. It finds a dichotomy between subsistence-oriented activities using traditional fuels and small-scale businesses using modern energy. The study highlights that the most energy-intensive subsectors, particularly food preparation and beer brewing, are the least efficient and the least capital-intensive, often serving as employment buffers for women. Overall, the informal sector's energy use is limited by capital constraints, meaning it provides significant urban employment without substantially increasing total urban energy consumption.

• The urban informal sector in Tanzania is divided between subsistence-oriented activities using traditional technologies and undercapitalized businesses that operate similarly to formal sector counterparts.
• Food preparation and beer brewing are the most energy-intensive and least efficient subsectors, with overall efficiencies of approximately 20% and 15% respectively.
• Carpenters and grain millers are the most energy-efficient informal subsectors, reaching about 60% efficiency due to their reliance on electricity.
• The food preparation and beer brewing subsectors have the lowest capital requirements, making them the easiest to enter and exit and serving as critical employment buffers, especially for women.
• Grain milling is the most capital-intensive subsector among those surveyed and provides the fewest employment opportunities.
• Informal sector energy use is constrained by limited capital resources, which prevents the establishment of energy-intensive industries like cement or fertilizer factories.
• In Dar es Salaam, informal sector firms operate at a higher level of intensity and employment per establishment compared to Mbeya and Shinyanga, yet net revenues remain virtually the same across all three cities.
• Awareness of the environmental impact of charcoal use is highest among respondents in Dar es Salaam, while the majority in Shinyanga disagree that charcoal use is bad for the environment.

APA

Hosier, R. (1994). Informal Sector Energy Use in Tanzania. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-EEDseries-25-InformalSectorEnergyUseInTanzania-1994.pdf

Chicago

Hosier, Richard. Informal Sector Energy Use in Tanzania. Stockholm Environment Institute, 1994. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-EEDseries-25-InformalSectorEnergyUseInTanzania-1994.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hosier |first1=Richard |title=Informal Sector Energy Use in Tanzania |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=1994 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-EEDseries-25-InformalSectorEnergyUseInTanzania-1994.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hosier1994informal, author = {Hosier, Richard}, title = {{Informal Sector Energy Use in Tanzania}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {1994}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-EEDseries-25-InformalSectorEnergyUseInTanzania-1994.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }