Since Tanzania’s transition from a purely socialist approach to governance, the country has made some strides in attracting foreign investment. Given its negligible domestic saving culture, the answer to capital formation, job creation and general social upliftment lies in large part in foreign investment. The Tanzanian government can achieve this through instituting regulations and providing a foundation
for its own people to emerge as entrepreneurs with the capacity to partner with foreign investors. In addition, the government has to invest in human capital development. This paper recognises Tanzania’s political stability, its membership in the East African Community and SADC, and its physical
location as constituting a positive platform on which it can build its competitive advantage for foreign investment. Further, Tanzania’s highly liberal regulatory regime on foreign investment, as encapsulated in various domestic statutes and bilateral investment treaties, is a positive attribute. Nevertheless, if the country is to realise its full potential as an investment destination it must deal with those structural challenges that impede the attraction and retention of foreign direct investment.
