Agriculture
Agriculture is the main lifeline of the economy. It employs more than 80% of the rural active labour force, and accounts for more than 50% of GDP and similar volume of total foreign exchange earnings. Much of the agricultural potential remains largely unexploited. Tanzania is endowed with about 90 million hectares of land suitable for agriculture with a wide agro-ecological diversity. Out of this total, only 6-7 million hectares are actually used for rain fed agriculture and 24 million hectares for livestock keeping. Main agricultural products include sisal, coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, pyrethrum etc. Agriculture activities are performed with rudimentary and low level technology, resulting in low yields. In order to contribute sufficiently to the economy, agriculture needs to be modernised through investments in plantation farming, agro-processing, animal husbandry etc.
Industrial manufacturing:
This is another sector of paramount economic potential. Its growth is key to sustained growth, job creation and envisages socio – economic transformation. Its contribution to GNP has been about 10%, and with reforms, the sector has begun to recover, new industries are emerging slowly. Industrial growth averages 3% p.a.
Mining:
Is yet another up-coming rich sector. Minerals currently contribute about 2% of GDP. However, the Government in a bid to fully realise the mineral potential, such as increased output and value added and generates employment has introduced a Mining Policy, which has opened the sector to private and foreign investors.
The minerals include, gold, diamond, gemstones, energy minerals, coal, peat and uranium, iron ore, base metals such as nickel, cobalt, industrial minerals e.g. kaolin, soda ash, gypsum salt and limestone. Investment opportunities are in mineral exploration, mining processing etc.
Tourism:
Tanzania has one of the richest and most diverse habitat and plant and animal species. The continuing construction of private commercial tourist enterprises, such as hotel and tour operators has resulted in a marked increase in capacity number of beds, charter planes and quality services. The sector’s contribution in terms of foreign exchange has since 1997 surpassed other sectors.
TANZANIA EXPORTS.
(Source: BET Analysis based on Customs Statistics)
(Figures in USD ‘000,000)

NOTE: * Provisional figures
Banking Sector
The financial reforms adopted by the government recently have attracted a number of private banks to Tanzania. So far 18 banks, 11 Non bank financial institutions and 80 Bureaux operators have been licensed. The restructuring of the National Bank of Commerce (NBC), the largest domestic bank with a market share of 90%, reveal a shift from rural, peasant and informal sector activities, to urban and more sophisticated clientele of corporate borrowers as may be witnessed by the splitting of NBC into two banks, the National Microfinance Bank Limited (NMB) to cater for SMEs and NBC (1997) Ltd. NMB (with rural reach) has 95 branches and NBC, (just been privatised), has 34 branches. Weak capital base has forced NMB to operate deposit accounts only since 1997. As a result, a financial vacuum has been created especially in the rural and small-scale enterprises sectors
Although reforms are bringing in many players in the field, the diversity of financial services offered are not tailored to the adequate needs of exporters. Lack of institutional diversification, has deprived the key sectors of the economy viz. Agriculture, Industry and Mining of requisite financial services for their growth and expansion. Investment in Banking industry is welcome to speed up the growth of Tanzania economy.