Business Insightz Partners

Business Environment Strengthening Tanzania, the Advocacy & Dialogue component (BEST–Dialogue)

Business Environment Strengthening Tanzania (BEST) was established in 2004. Its main target was to speed up the country’s complex change process from a central plan economy to a well regulated market economy. One of the BEST components aimed at developing the capacity of business membership organizations to dialogue more effectively with the government of Tanzania for influencing policy processes and by suggesting improvements on the basis of well-researched evidence. The BEST Advocacy & Dialogue component supported many short training courses for the private sector and it also managed a fund accessible for Tanzanian business membership organizations. The grants allowed the organizations to commission research for identifying more precisely the causes for the many pertinent and persistent issues with doing business in Tanzania. The initial usual arguing around complaints turned into a dialogue on the basis of facts and figures, the public and private sectors started to negotiate for a better performing economy.

The resulting research findings remain useful input for public-private dialogue, often for a much longer time, when negotiating for further changes in laws and regulations, allowing for an ever more conducive business environment and investment climate for Tanzania. BEST-Dialogue, the University of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS) and the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) developed this Business Insightz Tanzania (Bitz) online documentation platform. Purpose of the platform is to capture the long process of change, while providing the private sector, political society, government, development partners and the general public access to a large source of information about (the history of) Tanzania’s business environment. It facilitates a continued policy improvement process, even well after the BEST-Dialogue project phased out in 2019.

For more information and documentation about BEST-Dialogue, please follow this link: www.best-dialogue.org

The University of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS) and its Center for Policy Research and Advocacy (CPRA)

The University of Dar es Salaam Business School worked with BEST- Dialogue through its Center for Policy Research and Advocacy. CPRA was established in July 2014 as a result of the growing demand for research, critical analysis, and knowledge management for promoting the dialogue and advocacy process. The primary objective of CPRA is to provide specialized research and training in areas related to policies, doing business and investment, and advocacy. Major research activities of CPRA focus on private sector development, public-private dialogue, policy advocacy and the facilitation of reforms also at the sub-national and regional levels. The information gathered through CPRA’s research and dialogue facilitation activities contributes concretely to policy decision-making processes.

With the support of BEST-Dialogue, UDBS-CPRA established the Higher Learning Institutions Network (Hi-LINE), linking the complementary disciplines of 6 Tanzanian universities into a multi-disciplinary network. Hi-LINE comprises Mzumbe University (MU), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Moshi Cooperative University (MoCU), the University of Iringa and St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT). Principal aim of the Hi-LINE network is to advance a coordinated support to local economic development (LED) in all of Tanzania’s regions, and to engage post-graduate students in the applied research skills and a continued Public-Private Dialogue effort in Tanzania.

For more information about the CPRA and Hi-LINE you may follow this link: udbs.udsm.ac.tz/cpra/Services.html

Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF)

Tanzania Private Sector Foundation is a member-based institute established in 1998 to promote private sector led economic development in Tanzania. National business apex TPSF provides a national platform through which its member organizations can present their concerns and suggestions at the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) policy forum meetings. The overall aim is the creation of a more conducive business environment. TPSF engages in dialogue with the government at the highest levels, with evidence-based arguments for matters of policy development and/or improvements as one of the core services it provides to its members. As an apex and umbrella organization, TPSF holds dialogues at the national level through Tanzania national business council (TNBC), at the regional level through regional business council (RBC) and at district level through district business council (DBC). TPSF also works with parliamentary committees and is also a focal point for the East Africa Business Council (EABC).

For more information about TPSF please follow this link: tpsftz.org