The HoBIS 2025 Declaration: A ‘Tanzania Inc.’ Strategy is Unveiled

The Horticulture Business and Investment Summit (HoBIS 2025), convened from November 12–13, 2025, in Dar es Salaam, was not a standard trade conference. It was a meticulously orchestrated declaration of national economic strategy. Convened by the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) in partnership with the Government of Tanzania, the summit’s true power was evidenced by its guest list. This was not a mid-level ministerial delegation; it was a clear signal of a unified “Tanzania Inc.”.   

In a single room, the government assembled the complete human infrastructure of the horticulture value chain. The summit’s high-level participants included the Guest of Honor, Dr. Jim Yonazi, Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Prime Minister’s Office, representing the Chief Secretary of the Republic. The heads of every critical ministry joined him: PS Gerald Mweli from Agriculture; PS Dr. Hashil Abdalla from Industry and Trade; Balozi Thobias Makoba representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Baraka Aligaesha from the Planning and Investment Commission. Crucially, they were flanked by the regional commissioners of the nation’s most vital economic regions: Adam Malima of Morogoro (the production heartland) and Jabir Makame of Songwe (the SADC logistics gateway). Representatives from Zanzibar, including Dr. Mohammed Kombo, the acting PS for Agriculture, solidified this unified national front.   

For international investors, whose primary risk in emerging markets is often bureaucratic friction—gaining approval from one ministry only to be blocked by a regional authority—this unified staging was a deliberate act of political de-risking. The message was unambiguous: from the farm to the port, from the ministry to the region, the Tanzanian government speaks with one voice.

This aligned force gathered to pursue a single, unambiguous “North Star” goal. As articulated by TAHA CEO Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi, the central objective of HoBIS 2025 was to create the definitive roadmap for the sector. “Lengo kubwa tunafanya majadiliano ambayo yatatupa ramani ya kusonga mbele,” Dr. Mkindi stated, “ili kuweza kufikia target yetu mwaka elfu mbili na thelathini… kuuza mazao yenye thamani ya dolla za Kimarekani bilioni mbili kwa mwaka.” (The main goal is to hold discussions that give us a roadmap to reach our target by 2030… to sell produce worth US $2 billion per year).   

The ‘Samia Effect’: The Government’s ‘Receipts’ for De-Risking the Sector

The summit’s narrative quickly pivoted from promises of future reform to a presentation of “receipts” for reforms already completed. This “Samia Effect,” referencing the national economic agenda of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, was detailed by key ministers who presented their actions as “skin in the game”—a non-negotiable baseline of public investment designed to attract, not beg for, private capital.

PS Gerald Mweli of the Ministry of Agriculture presented the most compelling case, beginning with the national “war chest.” He declared, “kwa mara ya kwanza, serikali yenyewe imeongeza budget yake mara nne… kutoka bilioni mia mbili tisini na nane… mpaka bilioni mia tisa… hivi ninavyosema tuna trilioni moja nukta mbili uwekezaji kwenye kilimo.” (For the first time, the government itself has quadrupled its budget… from 298 billion TZS… to 900 billion TZS… as I speak, we have 1.2 trillion TZS for investment in agriculture). This 1.2 trillion TZS (approx. $460 million USD) of domestic capital fundamentally changes the investment dynamic from “help us” to “partner with us.”   

More critically for the horticulture sector, where perishable goods make time a non-financial liability, the government has launched a direct assault on bureaucratic drag. PS Mweli laid out radical, tangible improvements in logistical efficiency:

• Phyto-sanitary Certificates: “Miaka mitatu iliyopita ilikuwa inatuchukua zaidi ya wiki moja… Sasa hivi ni siku moja tu…” (Three years ago, it took us over one week… Now it is just one day).   
• Export Permits: “Ilikuwa inachukuwa zaidi ya wiki moja… Sasa hivi ni, ni saa moja tu…” (It took over one week… Now it is just one hour).   

This reduction of an export permit from a one-week business-killing delay to a one-hour formality is not just an efficiency gain; it is a systemic transformation. For a cargo of fresh flowers, avocados, or vegetables, a one-week delay represents a total loss. A one-hour permit creates a viable business model. This single reform effectively unlocks the entire high-value, time-sensitive export sector.

This internal bureaucratic reform has been paired with an aggressive external-facing trade diplomacy. PS Mweli noted, “tumefungua masoko tisa… ni Japan, China, India na Afrika kusini,” (we have opened nine new markets… Japan, China, India, and South Africa).   

PS Dr. Hashil Abdalla of Industry and Trade quantified the success in clearing the regional trade arteries, specifically the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs):

• With Kenya: “Mwaka 2021… kulikuwa kuna registered NTB kati ya Tanzania na Kenya sitini na nane. Leo tunazungumza zimebaki kumi tu.” (In 2021… there were 68 registered NTBs with Kenya. Today, we are talking about only 10 remaining).   
• With Zambia: “kulikuwa na registered NTBs zaidi ya thalathini… Leo… hazizidi kumi…” (There were over 30… Today… they do not exceed 10).   

This multi-layered strategy—funding the sector domestically, fixing internal bureaucracy, and clearing external market access—demonstrates a comprehensive, whole-of-government understanding of the entire value chain, from the farm to the foreign supermarket.

TABLE 1: The Government’s ‘Receipts’: Quantifying Tanzanian Reforms    

Metric	Old Figure	New Figure (as of Nov 2025)
National Agriculture Budget	298 Billion TZS (2021)	1.2 Trillion TZS (2024/25)
Time for Phyto-sanitary Cert.	~1 Week	1 Day
Time for Export Permit	~1 Week	1 Hour
Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) with Kenya	68 (2021)	10 (2025)

The View from the Ground: Implementing the Vision, from Morogoro to the SADC Gateway

The high-level panel discussion provided a crucial window into how this national strategy is being executed by regional leaders on the front lines of production and logistics.

Morogoro’s Smallholder Revolution

Adam Malima, the Regional Commissioner of Morogoro, delivered a practical masterclass in development economics. He argued that sustainable growth is not driven by top-down directives but by fixing the market to empower smallholders. He criticized the old model, stating, “Unashimama wewe unakwenda kwa mkulima… unaasimu akili hana… Mistake number one.” (You go to the farmer… assuming he has no brains… Mistake number one).   

RC Malima’s strategy is built on the opposite premise: that farmers are rational economic actors who will respond to market incentives. His administration’s focus has been on organizing the value chain and, most importantly, on logistics. “If you don’t have it organized, it serves no purpose,” he argued. “you need to focus on the logistic chain. That is the number one factor.”.   

The results of this market-led approach are staggering. By organizing the market and cracking down on exploitative middlemen, his administration engineered massive price increases for farmers in just 12 months:

• Cloves: “mwaka juzi… 6,000 shillings… Mwaka jana nimewauza karafuu 18,000 shillings.” (The year before… 6,000 shillings… Last year I sold them at 18,000 shillings).   
• Cocoa: “mwaka juzi ilikua 7,000 shillings… Mwaka jana tumewauza 28,000 shillings pa kilo.” (The year before it was 7,000… last year we sold at 28,000 per kilo).   

This 3x to 4x price increase, achieved not through subsidies but through market function, creates the powerful incentive structure that will pull farmers into the formal value chain, driving the production increase needed to hit the $2 billion goal.

The SADC ‘Lango’ (Gateway)

At the other end of the value chain, RC Jabir Makame of Songwe detailed his region’s role as the “Lango La SADC” (SADC Gateway). “asilimia sitini na tano mpaka asilimia sabini ya mzigo… unatoka Bandari ya Dar es Salaam… kupitia mpaka wa Tunduma.” (65 to 70 percent of cargo… from Dar es Salaam Port… passes through the Tunduma border).   

RC Makame offered a sophisticated analysis, identifying the congestion at the Tunduma border as a “good problem”—a positive, second-order effect of the Dar es Salaam port’s new efficiency. “Uwekezaji mkubwa uliofanyika katika Bandari ya Dar es Salaam… imeleta changamoto ya foleni kubwa…” (The huge investment in Dar es Salaam Port… has created the challenge of large queues). This proves the national logistics chain is working, but has created a new, predictable bottleneck. The government’s solution is forward-looking: “kuboresha barabara yetu ya TANZAM… kujenga barabara ya Njia Sita…” (improve the TANZAM road… build a six-lane road). This response shows that the government is not just solving today’s problems but is building infrastructure to handle the future capacity of its $2 billion export ambition.   

Diplomacy as a Trade Tool

Balozi Makoba of the Foreign Ministry outlined a highly mature, third-order strategy. The ministry has created a new directorate that functions “kama think tank” (like a think tank). Its role is to “monitor,” “analyze,” and “foresee” global “jio politics” and “mega trends”—like climate change or global shipping disruptions—that could “astili sekta” (affect the sector). Tanzania is not just thinking about selling avocados; it is building a geopolitical intelligence service to de-risk the entire national sector for its investors and producers.   

The Private Sector’s Playbook: Capital, Confidence, and a Critical ‘Ask’

The summit also provided clear evidence of the private and financial sectors’ response to the government’s de-risking actions.

The Banking Pivot

The speech from Agostino Matutu of Azania Bank provided the financial proof of the “Tanzania Inc.” model. He first contextualised the challenge: “average katika Afrika ni asilimia tano tu ya mikopo… kwenda kwenye sekta ya kilimo.” (The average in Africa is only 5% of loans… going to the agriculture sector). In contrast, he noted, “Tanzania tunaongoza tuna asilimia kumi na mbili.” (Tanzania leads at 12%).   

Then, he revealed his own bank’s commitment, a direct result of the government’s reforms: “sisi… Azania Bank… kilimo kinachukua asilimia kumi na tano ya portfolio yetu.” (For us… Azania Bank… agriculture takes 15% of our portfolio). This 15% allocation—triple the African average—is not a charitable act. Matutu explicitly linked it to government action, stating that public investment in infrastructure “zinapunguza yale majanga… vile viashiria vya majanga… na hivyo vinaongeza appetite yetu.” (reduces those disasters… those indicators of disaster… and thus increases our appetite). This is the virtuous cycle in action: public investment reduces risk, which in turn increases private lending and fuels sector growth.   

The Investor and Partner Endorsement

Third-party validators powerfully supported this data. Olav Boger, the Vice-Chairman of TAHA, spoke not just as an official but as a foreign investor: “I’m here as a farmer… But I’m also an investor… So I put my money into farming, into Tanzania… and I’m also happy in that capacity that I– that the government is willing to support the horticultural sector.”. This public declaration from an active foreign investor served as a powerful signal to other international capital in the room.   

Similarly, Elibariki Shammy – Country Director Trademark Africa, a key partner in port logistics and policy reform, gave a ringing endorsement of the public-private partnership model: “TAHA stood out to be one of those who are really focused on results and impact. And we can see this… you cannot mention this story… without putting TAHA in the centre.”.   

The Critical ‘Ask’

With the government having successfully de-risked the macro environment, Angelina Ngalula, acting President of the Tanzania Private Sector Federation (TPSF), identified the single most important next step to unlock micro-level capital. She made a direct policy proposal: “Ni lazima… tutengeneze mfuko wa kutoa dhamana… Hawa vijana hawana collateral za kuona kwenye mabenki.” (It is necessary… we create a guarantee fund… These youth do not have the collateral to show banks). This “ask” for a public-private partnership to create a guarantee fund for youth and women was the key policy proposal of the summit, representing the logical next phase of de-risking the sector from the top down to the grassroots level.   

The Future Unveiled: ‘Hoti Logistica Africa’ and the Annual Mandate

The summit concluded by institutionalizing its ambition through two major, forward-looking announcements.

First, the government created an accountability mechanism to ensure these reforms are not a one-off event. The Guest of Honor, Dr. Jim Yonazi, issued a formal directive: “niwataki Wizara ya Kilimo kuwekisha jukwaa hili… linafanyika kila mwaka… ni vema… linafanyika wakati wa maonyesho ya nane nane.” (I instruct the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure this forum… is held every year… it is best… it is held during the Nane Nane exhibitions). PS Gerald Mweli confirmed this, cementing the date: “tarehe moja mwezi wa nane, ya kila mwaka… ndio tutakuwa na Kongamano la Uwekezaji…” (August 1st, every year… is when we will have the Investment Summit). By tying HoBIS to the Nane Nane national agricultural holiday, the government elevated horticulture to a permanent, high-priority national event, creating an annual forum in which ministries must publicly report their progress.   

Second, the summit unveiled its most ambitious geopolitical play: the launch of ‘Hoti Logistica Africa’. This initiative was announced as a new continental trade fair, with the master of ceremonies declaring, “sasa Hoti Logistica Africa itatokea Tanzania… mkoani Arusha… inajumuisha wadau wote wa Afrika na dunia hapa Tanzania.” (Now Hoti Logistica Africa will happen in Tanzania… in Arusha… it will include all stakeholders from Africa and the world here in Tanzania). A video presentation reinforced this vision: “Set in Arusha, Tanzania, the heart of Africa’s Green Corridor… This bold vision will connect Africa’s abundance to global opportunity.”. This announcement signals that Tanzania is not just planning to be a producer; it is making a strategic play to become the logistics hub for the entire continent—the “Netherlands of Africa” for horticulture.   

Analysis: The $569 Million Foundation for a $2 Billion Ambition

The $2 billion export goal by 2030 is ambitious, requiring a 3.5-fold increase from its current position. However, the summit’s final data points, delivered by the Guest of Honour Dr Jim Yonazi, framed this ambition not as an aspiration but as a data-backed certainty.

Dr. Yonazi provided the “proof-of-concept” by detailing the sector’s historical growth before the current wave of hyper-aggressive reforms:

• Production Growth: “…umeongezeka kutoka tani milioni 1.1 mwaka 2003/4 hadi zaidi ya tani milioni 8.4 mwaka 2023/24. Ongezeko hilo ni zaidi ya mara saba.” (Production has increased from 1.1 million tonnes in 2003/4 to over 8.4 million tonnes in 2023/24. That is an increase of more than seven times).   
• Export Value Growth: “…thamani ya mauzo ya nje imeongezeka kutoka dola za Marekani milioni 64 mwaka 2004 hadi takriban dola milioni 569 mwaka 2024.” (The value of exports has increased from 64 million US dollars in 2004 to approximately 569 million US dollars in 2024).   

The entire argument of HoBIS 2025 rests on this data. The sector has already achieved an approximately 8.9-fold increase in export value over the last 20 years. The central question posed by the summit was: if Tanzania could build a $569 million export industry before a 1.2 trillion TZS budget, 1-hour export permits, and 58 fewer NTBs with Kenya, what can it achieve with them?

HoBIS 2025 was Tanzania’s definitive answer: its $2 billion bet is a data-backed, state-led, and privately-executed industrial strategy that is already in motion.

TABLE 2: Tanzania Horticulture Sector Growth (2004–2024)    

Metric	2003/2004	2023/2024	Growth Factor
Annual Production (Tonnes)	1.1 Million	8.4 Million	~7.6x
Annual Export Value (USD)	$64 Million	$569 Million	~8.9x