CAREER OPPORTUNITY - COUNTRY MANAGER FOR A CREDIT REFERENCE BUREAU IN TANZANIA

COUNTRY MANAGER - TANZANIA

HIGH LEVEL BRIEF

• A part of a successful International Credit Bureau operation which provides credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. Including the banking and financial community of Tanzania.

• Credit Bureaus are an essential part of financial infrastructures and an enabler of economic growth in all countries.

• Information is collated and made available at a variable cost depending on volume time frames etc - the principal benefit of the data is to to ensure credit worthiness and relative financial strength in the market.

• The operation in Tanzania currently employs a group of four highly qualified and successful professionals and furthermore serves a strong client base which represents a large proportion of the Tanzanian banking sector.  

• The task of the newly hired Country Manager will be to fully capitalise on the outstanding opportunities in the  market.

• Tanzania is just one part of a global dynamic international business – over time the individual will have scope to further develop beyond Tanzania into a wider international market .

PRESIDENT KIKWETE MEETS PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK, DR. JIM YONG KIM

President Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete meets the President of the World Bank Group, Dr. Jim Yong Kim in Toronto, Canada this morning. President Kikwete is in Toronto to attend a summit on maternal, newborn and child health.

TANZANIAN ENTREPRENEUR, PATRICK NGOWI TO FEATURE ON CNN'S AFRICAN VOICES

Patrick Ngowi, CEO, Helvetic Solar

CNN's African Voices highlights Africa's most engaging personalities. This week on African Voices, we talk to entrepreneur, Patrick Ngowi. 

Showtimes: (all times GMT) 
Friday: 0730 
Saturday: 1430 
Sunday: 0230, 0800, 1730 
Monday: 0930, 1430 
Tuesday: 0430

THE YOUNG AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE LIGHTING UP TANZANIA - FORBES MAGAZINE

          Patrick Ngowi, CEO, Helvetic Solar

It’s 1:15 pm on a blistering hot Wednesday afternoon in Dar Es Salaam. Patrick Ngowi is seated in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, patiently waiting for me to keep up with our lunch appointment. We had planned to meet for 12:30, but I had lost track of time.

“You are finally here, my brother,” Ngowi smiles as he rises from his chair to welcome me as I approach him.

For a 28 year-old Tanzanian who has built an $8 million (revenues) solar energy company, Ngowi certainly looks the part. He is impeccably dressed in a black suit, with the tip of Mont Blanc pen hanging out of his suit pocket. And he’s got a Mont Blanc watch adorning his left wrist and Brioni shoes to match.

Ngowi has a remarkable story.  He is the CEO of Helvetic Solar Contractors – a Tanzanian company that supplies, installs and maintains solar systems throughout the northern circuit of Tanzania. The company sells everything solar from photovoltaic (a.k.a. “solar”) panels and water heaters to battery banks, generators and back-up units.

DAR ES SALAAM STOCK EXCHANGE MARKET REPORT AS AT FRIDAY 30 May 2014

In today’s trading session, DSE recorded a total turnover of TZS 4,581.06 mln from 14,044,369 shares traded in 57 deals in comparison to the previous session which recorded a turnover of TZS 758 mln from 1,281,889 shares traded in 35 deals.

CRDB counter had 400 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 320 ex dividend per share in 22 deals. NMB counter had 4,567 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 3,300 ex dividend per share in 10 deals. TBL counter had 7,640 shares traded at weighted 
average price of TZS 8,640 per share in 6 deals. SWISSPORT counter had 344 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 2,660 per share in 4 deals. DCB counter had 1,220 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 480 per share in 4 deals. TOL counter had 28,898 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 500 per share in 7 deals. SIMBA counter had 900 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 2,360 per share in 2 deals. TCC counter had 200 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 10,100 per share in 1 deal. TATEPA counter had 200 shares traded at weighted average price of TZS 650 per share in 1 deal. 

MARKET SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING 30 MAY 2014 COURTESY OF DAR ES SALAAM STOCK EXCHANGE (DSE)

MARKET SUMMARY

Indices	30 May 2014
TSI	3,206.25	67.90
DSEI	2,019.68	28.49

GAINERS & LOSERS

ABG		0.49%
NMG		-1.20%
CRDB		3.13%
KCB		2.15%
JHL		0.94%
EABL		1.17%
NMB		3.03%
SIMBA		-1.69%
TBL		2.78%
TOL		10.00%

EXCHANGE RATES

Currency	Buying	Selling
EUR	2,226.43	2,249.35
USD	1,636.24	1,652.60
KES	18.64	18.80
GBP	2,735.79	2,763.97

DAR ES SALAAM STOCK EXCHANGE - SCHOLAR INVESTMENT CHALLENGE 2014

Click here for more details.

BOT: DESPITE SHARP DECLINE IN VALUE, GOLD DOMINATES NON-TRADITIONAL EXPORTS

Despite recording a decline in value of 4.4 percent, gold continued to dominate nontraditional exports, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Monthly Economic Review for the Month of April has said.

The review said during the year ending March 2014, the value of non-traditional exports declined by 4.4 percent to USD3,852.8m.

This was mainly driven by low export values of all non-traditional goods with the exception of manufactured goods, other minerals and re-exports.

Much of the decline was recorded in export value of gold, which went down by 11 percent to USD1,749.1m following a fall in the export volume coupled with a decline in the unit export price by 19.9 percent to an average of USD1,327.2 per troy ounce.

IMF URGES AFRICA TO INVEST MASSIVELY IN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Maputo – Africa’s fast growing economies need to spend $93b a year just to bring infrastructure up to speed, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday, sketching out the daunting challenges still faced by the continent.

Africa’s fast-growing economies need to spend $93b a year to improve infrastructure and help solve some of the challenges still faced by the continent.

Opening a major meeting for finance ministers and central bankers in Maputo to plot Africa’s rise, Christine Lagarde said the continent still faced massive challenges.

“Only 16 per cent of all roads are paved, compared with 85 per cent in South Asia. These shortfalls represent huge costs to business — and to people.”

Sub-Saharan African economies, some of the fastest growing in the world, are expected to expand by more than five per cent this year.

But poor infrastructure, including a lack of capacity in electricity production and poor roads, is seen as curbing growth.

“High quality infrastructure can be a magnet for foreign investment,” said Lagarde.

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK REWARDING ITS CLIENTS FOR REFERRALS

Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania Limited has launched an exciting campaign for its Priority Clients. Dubbed “Member get Member” campaign, the initiative is open to the Bank’s Priority Clients. Exciting prizes including trips to Rome, Paris, Cape Town, Johannesburg or Dubai, among others, await the Bank’s Clients who successfully refer new Priority Clients to the Bank.

The new clients will also qualify to join the campaign which is ongoing until 31st July, 2014.

Standard Chartered Bank also welcomes interested individuals who would want to enjoy the Bank’s Priority Services, which include personalized and exclusive banking experience to Priority Clients and their families supported by a dedicated Relationship Team and International Banking facilities, among others to visit the Bank’s Priority Centre at its Head Office Branch located at the International House Property, Shaaban Robert St. / Garden Avenue in Dar es Salaam.

For more information on the Member get Member campaign, please click here.

It’s good when a trusted partner rewards you for successful referrals

	Dear Priority Customer, At Standard Chartered Priority Banking, we understand the importance of relationships. Introduce your family and friends to Priority Banking and get rewarded for helping them enjoy the privileges of a trusted partner. Eligibility for successful referrals: A customer is deemed successfully referred when he/she opens a Priority Banking account with Standard Chartered and has an Account Balance of Tshs 80,000,000 or equivalent. If you refer them before 31st July 2014, we have one of the following rewards in store for you:
	How to make a referral • Send a referral via Email to tz.prioritybanking@sc.com • Submit in person at your Priority Centre or to your Relationship Manager or Branch Manager at any Standard Chartered branch • Call the Priority Hotline +255 22 2121265 • For more details and terms and conditions, click here.

NBC SUPPORTS 50 CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SPECIAL OLYMPIC GAMES

 NBC Zanzibar Branch Manager, Rajab Maalim hands over TZS 2 million to the 2nd Vice President of Zanzibar, His Excellency Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi in Zanzibar yesterday. The money was raised by NBC staff countrywide through donations, as sponsorship for children with special needs to participate in the special olympics to be held in Kibaha from 3rd to 9th June 2014.

Some of the 50 children with special needs from Zanzibar and Pemba witness the handover ceremony. Through NBC's generous support, they will participate in the special olympic games organised by the National sports Council of Tanzania, to he held in Kibaha from 3rd to 9th June 2014.

EXIM BANK EMBARKS ON DRIVE TO SUPPORT FINANCIAL INCLUSION

The Minister for Industry and Trade, Dr. Abdallah Kigoda (right) shakes hands with Exim Bank Tanga Branch Manager Deogratius Makwaia (first left) when he visited the bank’s gazebo during the opening of the second Tanga International Trade Fair at Tangamano Grounds recently. Looking on second left is Exim Bank sales executive Martin Temu.

Exim Bank Tanga Branch Manager Deogratius Makwaia (first left) briefs the Minister for Industry and Trade, Dr. Abdallah Kigoda (right) on the bank’s services as the minister shakes hands with the bank’s sales executive Martin Temu (second left) when he visited the bank’s gazebo during the opening of the second Tanga International Trade Fair at Tangamano Grounds recently. 

Exim Bank Tanga Branch Manager Deogratius Makwaia (second left) briefs the Minister for Industry and Trade, Dr. Abdallah Kigoda (right) on the bank’s services when he visited the bank’s gazebo during the opening of the second Tanga International Trade Fair at Tangamano Grounds recently. Looking on first left is Exim Bank marketing executive Fatma Kilinda and third left is the bank’s sales executive Martin Temu.

EXIM Bank Tanzania is aggressively implementing its plans to fully support government’s financial inclusion initiative, by reaching unbanked individuals across the country and giving them light on the benefits of using banking services for economic growth.

This was evidenced by its move to participate in the second Tanga International Trade Fair (TITF), using it as a platform to reach many unbanked individuals living in the rural areas within Tanga Region.

Speaking during the trade fair held at Tongamano grounds in Tanga, Exim Bank Tanga Branch Manager Deogratius Makwaia said the awareness campaign aims at ensuring that many individuals get to understand the benefits of using banking services for their economic growth.

“In an effort to promote financial inclusion and attract many customers to prefer our banking services to other financial institutions in the country, our bank has embarked on a program which will see us showcasing our products and services in various exhibitions,” said Mr. Makwaia.

NSSF TARGETS SMALL-SCALE MINERS

Tanzania's National Social Security Fund plans to cover small-scale miners, as it gradually expands its scope to include most of the workers engaged in informal business.

This is the second target outside the traditional brackets to be covered by the public pension fund in two-years. Last year, it incorporated farmers.

NSSF director of operations Crescentius Magori said they would include about 400,000 small-scale miners in the next fiscal year.

Going by the NSSF’s minimum contribution of Tsh50,000 ($31.25) per person per month for miners, the scheme will rake in Tsh240 billion ($150 million) per annum, should the entity reach out to all targeted miners.

“NSSF’s idea is to unlock the small scale miners’ economic potential not only by covering them, but also offering them equipment loans to help transform their undertakings” Mr Magori explained.

CO-OP BANK OF KENYA SET FOR UGANDA, TANZANIA ENTRY

Co-operative Bank of Kenya group managing director, Gideon Muriuki.

Co-operative Bank plans to set up shop in Uganda and Tanzania using its model of partnering with local co-operative movements.

Co-op Bank used a similar strategy to enter the South Sudan market, which it says will break-even in June, eight months after launch.

“The bank is in the process of expanding operations in Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan in partnership with co-operative movements in those countries,” said Co-op Bank group managing director Gideon Muriuki in the lender’s recently released annual report for 2013.

Co-op Bank— owned 64.56 per cent by Kenya’s co-operative movement —is Kenya’s fourth largest lender after KCB, Equity and Standard Chartered.

The majority stake is held by Co-op Holdings Co-operative Society Ltd, an investment vehicle bringing together 3,815 Kenyan Saccos.

The lender holds a 51 per cent stake in the Co-operative Bank of South Sudan with the remaining 49 per cent owned by the young country’s budding co-operative movement.

Its Juba operations made a loss of Sh267.3 million in the three months of operations to December 2013.

“It is expected to contribute positively to our profitability from June this year,” said Mr Muriuki.

Co-op Bank will join nine other Kenyan banks with operations in Uganda.

TANZANIA FAIR COMPETITION COMMISSION CLEARS NAKUMATT’S BID TO TAKE OVER SHOPRITE STORES

It has now been confirmed that the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) of Tanzania has already given a green light for the transaction that will see Nakumatt taking over three stores owned by South African retailer Shoprite in Dar es Salaam and Arusha.

‘’We granted the approval to Nakumatt on Monday. There were no much issues to deal with  after Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers which had filed the case  to block the buyout  by Nakumatt settled their grievances with their employer,’’ said the Tanzanian Fair Competition Commission Public Relations Manager, Frank Mdimi.

He said that the approval has been granted with strict conditions to Nakumatt on how they should operate in Tanzania and the protocol to be observed when buying or importing their products.

Under the new guidelines, Nakumatt will be expected to employ a certain percentage of the locals in their stores and sign a pact with the government detailing how much they will be buying from Tanzanian manufacturers and disclosing the bulk they will be buying from Kenya.

“Our focus will be to support local manufactures by buying most products from them,’’ Nakumatt Holdings’ head of strategy and operations Thiagarajan Ramamurthy said.

BARCLAYS BANK TANZANIA INVESTS TSHS 120 MILLION TO FACILITATE DISADVANTAGED YOUTHS IN DAR

Barclays Bank Tanzania with Nkwamira Sustainable Life Trust has launched the out of school youth empowerment program in Dar es Salaam. Barclays Bank Tanzania has invested Tshs 120 million to facilitate the program which will benefit 200 disadvantaged youths in Dar es Salaam region.

Barclays’ group ambition is to empower 5 million disadvantaged young people with the skills they need to achieve economic independence and security by equipping them with Financial, Entrepreneurship and Life Skills.

“We do this by partnering with organizations which can identify the youths and facilitate the training activities,” Barclays Head of Marketing and Communications, Neema Rose Singo said.

Nkwamira Life Trust partnered with Barclays Bank Tanzania last year to create this program which has now begun with training activities for youths who have not succeeded in pursuing higher education and therefore giving them another chance at gaining skills which can be implemented to provide them with financial freedom. 

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Nkwamira Noreen Mazalla said the training will benefit youths who have finished form 4 and form 6 drawn from Dar es Salaam. The training is geared to empower the participants on how to start and manage small businesses.

PRECISION AIR SUSPENDS DAR - MBEYA OPERATIONS

Precision Air (PW) has announced a temporal suspension of its Dar es Salaam-Mbeya flights, claiming that the route is non-performing due to the unavailability of jet fuel at Songwe Airport.

The suspension will become effective on June 21st, according to the airline’s Brand and Marketing Coordinator, Hillary Mremi.

“The suspension is due to the route’s poor performance which was driven mainly by the unavailability of jet fuel in Mbeya, a situation which necessitated the airline to carry fuel from Dar es Salaam. By so doing our ability to maximize passenger loads has been limited,” he said in a statement.

The airline has been flying to Mbeya on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

While apologizing to its passengers for the inconveniences, PW said it would monitor the route’s situation with a view to resuming operations as soon as conditions allows.

“Passengers holding tickets on the affected flights will be refunded. Arrangements have been made to facilitate the refunds through Precision Air or travel agent offices depending on where the tickets were purchased from,” Mr. Mremi said.

PW launched its Dar es Salaam-Mbeya flights in January last year. During the inauguration, the airline was compelled to reduce the number of passengers from 70 to 50 during the Dar es Salaam-Mbeya flight to provide space for fuel due to lack of it at Songwe Airport. The airline used its 70-seater ATR-72 aircraft to flag off its services on the new route.

PW Board Chairman, Michael Shirima had hinted during the inauguration that the Dar es Salaam-Mbeya route would be expensive due to the unavailability of jet fuel in Mbeya.

He asked the government to look for an investor to supply jet fuel at Songwe Airport so that airlines flying to the airport can reduce operational costs.

CEO ROUNDTABLE PROMOTES ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AMONG YOUTH

Chairman of Chief Executive Officers Roundtable (CEOrt), Ali Mufuruki.

Ethical leadership in running businesses should be nurtured among the country’s youth who will provide future management teams to run companies, a forum of Chief Executive Officers has observed.

The CEO of leading companies in Tanzania who met in Dar es Salaam recently under the umbrella of CEO Roundtable, said promoting ethical leadership among the youth was vital to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity.

“From inception, the core principal of the CEO roundtable has been ethical leadership for prosperity and growth,” said the Chairman of CEO Roundtable of Tanzania, Ali A. Mufuruki.

Mr Mufuruki said business leaders were facing many challenges within their organisations due to lack of ethical leadership.

“The focus of discussion was on examining how leadership within the private sector can help influence the existing workforce to create ethical leaders as well as develop Tanzania’s youth.

Panelists from within the CEOrt members who spoke during the event included the Standard Chartered Bank CEO, Liz Lloyd, Mizinga Melu, the Managing Director of National Bank of Commerce (NBC) and Uche Unigwe, Country Manager, Heineken.

APPLE AGREES TO BUY HEADPHONE MAKER BEATS FOR $3 BILLION

The deal is thought to have made Beats co-founder Dr Dre the first hip-hop billionaire

Apple has confirmed it will buy headphone maker and music-streaming service provider Beats Electronics.

The deal is worth a total of $3bn (£1.8bn), and is thought to be Apple’s largest acquisition to date.

As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre will join the technology firm.

Apple boss Tim Cook said the deal would allow the firm to “continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world”.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FRANNIE LEAUTIER CEO OF MKOBA FUND

TanzaniaInvest conducted an exclusive interview with Frannie Leautier, Chief Executive Office of the recently launched MKOBA private equity fund. MKOBA focuses on investing in African small and medium enterprises. TanzaniaInvest and Mrs. Leautier discuss the rational, the strategy and the ambitions of MKOBA, and the investment opportunities available. 

TanzaniaInvest: What’s the origin of MKOBA private equity fund and why such focus on small and medium enterprises, in 8 African countries namely Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and South Africa?

Frannie Leautier: MKOBA private equity fund is the realization of a group of executives who came together to fill a perceived gap in the capital available for small and medium enterprises in Africa.

We realize that small and medium enterprises really create the bulk of the jobs in Africa, between 60% and 80%, depending on the country.

These are the companies that have the hardest time having access to capital; even those that have very important niche markets, ideas and opportunities for expansion, because of lack of adequate collateral.

Because the way the banking sector works, the demands for collateral are mostly real estate based, and small and medium enterprises, don't own much that is capitalized in physical terms.

Click here to read the full exclusive interview

AFRICA MUST MOVE UP VALUE CHAIN - AfDB

The Africa Development Bank is advising African economies to cut down their dependence on price-sensitive primary exports and come up with ways of drawing in investors wary of the rising labour costs in China.

AfDB, in its 2014 African economic outlook released last week, said the focus on moving up the value chain — the process of transforming raw materials into finished products and selling them — could further grow the continent’s export earnings and increase its share of manufactured goods from the current 2.2 per cent.

“In the medium- to long-term, the opportunity for participating in global value chains should be viewed as part of the strategy for achieving strong, sustained and inclusive growth,” said Mthuli Ncube, the AfDB chief economist.

ATI BRINGS IN TZS 130 BILLION IN TRADE, INVESTMENTS

Tanzania attracted US$ 82 million (about 132bn/-) in trade and investments last year ended 2013 from special and unique insurance cover by the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).

This was said by the Chairman of the ATI Board of Directors, Mr Israel Kamuzora in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday ahead of the ATI Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be graced today by the Vice President Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal. “ATI was created to fill a market gap in trade and investment risk mitigation in Africa as the perception of most international lenders is that the continent is unsafe place for lending due to political and trade credit risks,” said Mr Kamuzora.

He said the risk mitigation tools for credit and political insurance were non existent in most African countries until late 1990’s and where the cover existed, it was very costly. He said ATI achieves these objectives by offering specialty insurance – investment and trade credit insurance, to protect against business risks such as payment default that may be caused by governments or private companies. ATI was formed by ten African countries, Tanzania included.

DAR ES SALAAM STOCK EXCHANGE TO UPGRADE SYSTEM

DSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Moremi Marwa.

The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) is in the process of changing the Automatic Trading System (ATS) and Central Securities Depository (CSD) engine into a more robust and cost efficient system in order to make the bourse more vibrant and competitive.

The DSE Chief Executive Officer Mr Moremi Marwa said in an exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam that the use of the technologically enhanced system as key platform for the bourse’s future initiatives will improve productivity.

“We intend to introduce more demand driven products such as Real Estates Investment Trusts (REITs), Municipal Bonds, Exchange Traded Funds, Derivatives and Futures Contracts, Retail Savings Bonds,” he said.

Through this new system he added, DSE intends to use it as a platform to join the National Payment System and also enable the CSD integration with the Central’s CSD for government bonds.