Tanzania has reaffirmed its commitment to structured, long-term investment and global partnerships during the official launch of the Global Africa Investment Summit (GAIS), held on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
The launch brought together African heads of state, senior policymakers, global investors, and business leaders to explore Africa’s growth opportunities. Speakers emphasized that Africa’s main challenge is not a lack of resources, but the absence of trusted structures to connect these resources effectively to global capital.
In her remarks, President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan highlighted Tanzania’s readiness to engage GAIS as a credible investment partner.
She stressed that investors prioritize trust, consistent policies, and governments that honor commitments.
“What investors seek today is not only opportunity, but trust – trust in institutions, policy consistency, and governments that honour commitments,” she said.
President Samia outlined Tanzania’s strategic investments in key infrastructure, including energy, transport, and logistics, noting their role in boosting productivity, industrialization, and regional integration.
Flagship projects in hydropower, modern rail networks, ports, roads, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and the One-Stop Investment Facilitation Centre have simplified investment processes and strengthened investor confidence.
GAIS, she noted, provides a platform for structured collaboration that aligns with both national development priorities and investor expectations.
It is designed not as a traditional conference, but as a market infrastructure aimed at converting Africa’s sovereign and public assets into bankable, de-risked portfolios that meet global governance and risk management standards.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of GAIS and former President of the African Development Bank, said Africa’s challenge is not the lack of assets, but the creation of trusted structures to link them to global capital. “Africa must move decisively from aid dependency to investment-led growth,” he said.
João Lourenço, President of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union, highlighted the importance of Africa taking ownership of its sovereign assets to accelerate development.
Similarly,John Mahama, President of Ghana, called for redefining how global capital engages with the continent.
For Tanzania, GAIS presents an opportunity to attract private and institutional capital to priority sectors, ease pressure on public finances, and foster partnerships through public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures, special purpose vehicles (SPVs), and blended finance models.
The government plans to focus on three key areas: ports, logistics, and regional trade; energy and industrial zones; and manufacturing, value addition, and energy security.
These initiatives are expected to strengthen Tanzania’s role within the East African Community (EAC) as a regional production, logistics, and energy hub.
By moving from aid dependency to investment-driven growth, GAIS aims to create jobs for youth, transfer skills, support the growth of local enterprises and SMEs, and expand private capital participation.
Across discussions, the message was clear: Africa’s next phase of growth will be driven by structured investment, ownership, and execution rather than rhetoric or promises.
The inaugural Global Africa Investment Summit is scheduled for later in 2026. The launch was also attended by Maria Benvinda Levy, Prime Minister of Mozambique, representing President Daniel Chapo.
