Dar es Salaam. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as Tanzania’s leading source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the period from July to September 2025, contributing a total of $502.02 million registered projects, according to the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA) quarterly bulletin.
The UAE was followed by China with $438.41 million, India with $176.18 million, Singapore with $139.50 million, and France with $102.00 million, making up the top five sources of FDI during the quarter.
Overall, Tanzania recorded $1,618.43 million in FDI during the period, a decline compared to $2,790.62 million recorded in the same quarter of the previous financial year. The top sectors attracting FDI were manufacturing, economic infrastructure, commercial buildings, tourism, and transportation.
Manufacturing dominated FDI inflows, attracting $1,115.46 million, followed by economic infrastructure with $188.07 million, energy with $96.00 million, commercial buildings with $76.61 million, tourism with $39.35 million, transportation with $33.40 million, agriculture with $32.20 million, services with $21.69 million, and mining and petroleum with $15.75 million.
The total FDI recorded during the period is projected to generate 12,514 jobs, with the manufacturing sector accounting for 7,709 jobs, the largest share.
Despite leading FDI inflows during the July–September period, the UAE was not among the top countries by cumulative FDI stock in Tanzania as of 2023, according to the Tanzania Investment Report 2024.
However, the UAE remains one of Tanzania’s top five trading partners. According to the country’s 2024 Economic Survey, Tanzania imported goods worth $1,663.7 million from the UAE in 2024, while exports to the UAE stood at $625.2 million.
Tanzania’s exports to the UAE accounted for 7.2 percent of total merchandise exports in 2024, while imports from the UAE represented 10.6 percent of the country’s total imports during the same year.
