Business clinics seen as panacea to trade obstacles at border posts
TANTRADE Director General Edwin Rutageruka said the clinics, which will involve representatives from the national regulatory authorities, will also educate and solve challenges that importers whose goods are destined for Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) face.
The move is meant to create a more friendly business environment in the country, Mr Rutageruka said in an interview with the ‘Daily News’ in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
He added that the business clinic, launched last week at the 2018 DIFT, is one of the success stories of the 42nd fairs.
“In just one week after launching the clinic, 280 business challenges were received, with 200 of them resolved…the remaining 80 have been referred to various authorities for actions,” he said.
Launched by Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Charles Mwijage, the business clinic is an initiative to bring together business experts and specialists from the Universities of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and Dodoma (UDOM) as well as traders to diagnose problems impeding business growth.
Mr Rutageruka challenged business people participating to the DITF to provide information regarding their businesses to help the authority to make correct judgment.
“Many traders were reluctant to reveal detailed information on their businesses for fear of being charged more taxes,” he said, hinting that in the 2019 DITF, the authority plans to attract more sectors like mining, fishing, suppliers of agricultural inputs to the exhibitions to avail visitors with more learning options.
Similarly, youth participation to next year’s DITF will be enhanced, with increased chances of featuring prominently in building the industrial economy.
The 2018 DITF attracted 2,950 and 508 domestic and foreign exhibitors, respectively, with 33 countries participating. Last year, the fair attracted 2,500 local exhibitors, 505 foreigners and 30 countries.
“This clearly indicates that the DIFT has both domestic and international recognisation as an important platform for showcasing businesses, exchanging technology and inking business deals,” he added.
The 2018 DITF is described as a great success, 17.56bn/- business deals signed through business to business meetings, compared to 15bn/- last year.
Of all the signed deals, the dairy sector led with 16.75bn/-, with the rest sharing the balance. The fair created temporary jobs for 14,800 people, a 36 per cent increase from 11,000 jobs created in last year’s DITF.
Giving her assessment on this year’s DITF, Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC) Chairperson Jacqueline Maleko said this year’s trade fair featured more big companies than last year.
But, she said it remains a challenge as majority Tanzanian traders use the event as a bazaar instead of looking for business partners and future markets.
“Many businesspeople perceive the DITF as just a market to sell their goods…they should change mindset and start thinking of market expansion for their goods in future,” Ms Maleko told the ‘Daily News’ in an interview.
But, she appreciated the improved quality of products by Tanzanian entrepreneurs, especially women.
Ms Maleko, a retired TANTRADE Director General, challenged the authority to upgrade and set up more pavilions with international status to improve the event, dismissing as baseless claims that the exhibition fee that TANTRADE charges is high.
She said Tanzania charges less as compared to other countries hosting similar international trade fairs. Some interviewed exhibitors claimed that business was not as good as last year, saying they were struggling getting customers.
Some suggested total removal of the current 3,000/- entry fee to encourage more visitors to the fair.
Spice trader from Zanzibar Irene Kavishe said despite having customers outside the country, like Commoro, Kenya, India and Uganda, there should be a strategy to encourage more citizens to visit the fair.
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