By Alfred Zacharia
The Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (Brela) has stepped up efforts to elevate awareness and registration of intellectual property (IP) in Tanzania, using the 49th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) as a strategic platform to engage directly with creators, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
At this year’s Sabasaba exhibition, Brela introduced for the first time, a dedicated pavilion for intellectual property services, separate from its traditional business registration booth.
The move reflects a policy shift within the agency, aimed at making IP services more accessible and relevant to innovators across sectors.
According to George Msaki, Legal Officer from Brela’s Directorate of Intellectual Property, the initiative seeks to bridge a long-standing gap: the under-recognition of intangible assets like inventions, trademarks, and industrial designs.
“Every day, people come up with creative solutions and innovations, but many don’t realise these are valuable assets,” said Msaki. “Our role is to help Tanzanians understand the legal and economic value of protecting these creations.”
Brela operates under two main pieces of legislation: the Trade and Service Marks Act and the Patents Act. These laws govern the registration and protection of four key types of IP: trademarks, service marks, industrial designs, and patents.
By establishing a specialised IP booth, the agency has made it easier for inventors to initiate or complete registration processes without competing for attention with business registration clients.
“Previously, long queues at the main booth discouraged innovators. This year, we’ve created space to serve them efficiently and even process some applications on the spot,” Msaki noted.
The agency’s broader ambition is to encourage the commercialisation of innovations by ensuring they are legally recognised, protected, and monetised.
Recognising universities and research institutions as hotspots for innovation, Brela has extended its outreach to academic pavilions at the trade fair.
The agency has visited booths hosted by the University of Dodoma (UDOM), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Bugando Medical Centre, and the University of Dar es Salaam, among others.
“Many of the country’s patentable ideas are born in academic labs. We want to ensure these ideas don’t remain on the shelf,” said Msaki.
Brela has also entered Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with key institutions, including COSTECH, Mzumbe University, and the Tanzania Institute of Accountancy (TIA), to strengthen IP awareness and capacity-building.
It is also exploring collaborations with the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) to connect innovators with manufacturing and industrial investors.
The practical importance of registering IP is illustrated by the experience of Benedictor Aden, founder of Wazabanga Company Ltd.
Aden once dominated the bottled water market under the brand ABC Drinking Water, only to later discover that the name had been claimed by another party when he attempted to formalise it.
“I lost my brand and had to start from zero. That experience taught me that registering your brand early is not optional—it’s essential,” said Aden.
Since then, he has taken a proactive approach to IP registration, having already secured rights for his new product Stress Out Gene and plans to register other names, including Five Star Premium Vodka.
“The Brela team made the process straightforward. They guide you, they support you. I urge other innovators not to wait until it’s too late,” he said.
By July 5, 2025, Brela had registered over 20 patents and more than 40 trademarks and service marks at the Sabasaba fair alone. This exceeds previous years’ engagement levels, a trend the agency attributes to its targeted outreach approach.
For the 2024/25 financial year, Brela has processed close to 4,000 trademark and service mark registrations. It has also received 130 patent applications, 45 of which have already been finalised.
While Tanzania continues to build its formal economy through business and company registrations, the emphasis on IP reflects a growing recognition that intangible assets are equally crucial for sustainable development.
Brela’s focus this year sends a clear message: innovation deserves protection, and creators deserve to benefit from their work.
“We are urging all innovators, researchers, and business owners, regardless of scale, to visit our booth, ask questions, and begin the journey to protect their intellectual capital,” said Msaki.
If maintained and scaled, such efforts could reposition Tanzania not just as a market of consumers—but as a nation of creators whose ideas are protected, valued, and capable of transforming industries.