The digital economy of Tanzania stands to benefit from China’s support in promoting ICT (information and communication technologies). The two parties have signed a partnership agreement that will promote the adoption and development of fifth-generation (5G) mobile technology in the country.
The government of China has shown its readiness to allow investment in 5G network trials as a catalyst for its digital economy drive since Tanzania aims to build a digital economy achieved to spur development and increase employment, especially for young people through technological innovation.
The agreement was signed by Tanzania’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Nape Nnauye, and the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian.
The partnership shows that Tanzania recognizes that the backbone of the digital economy is hyper-connectivity, which means the growing inter-connectedness of people, organizations, and machines that results from the Internet, mobile technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Tanzania’s Economic Growth History
Tanzania’s economy reflects sustained macroeconomic stability that has supported growth, in addition to the country’s rich natural endowments and strategic geographic position.
Following two decades of sustained growth, Tanzania reached an important milestone in July 2020, when it formally graduated from low-income country to lower-middle-income country status. This growth is set to improve with China’s partnership.
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More About The 5G Partnership Talk
This partnership came after the Tanzanian authorities allowed investments in 5G, as a sigh of relief for companies like Vodacom, which has been advertising its ambitions for this technology since 2020.
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Speaking on the partnership, China’s ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian, said; “We will continue to motivate investors in the telecommunications sector in our country so that they can deliver these services as stated by the minister (Nnauye),”
While acknowledging that the issue of cyber security poses a number of challenges that China has been facing every waking hour, Ambassador Chen stressed that they still see the need to work with Tanzania to ensure cyber security is guaranteed by setting the environment and infrastructure that will enable Tanzania to respond to cyber threats.
Tanzania’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Nape Nnauye said in response to the ambassador, “Basically we have also agreed to further improve the issue of online security, especially in the area of capacity building for our ICT experts, exchange technology programmes that will enable the development of cross-sectorial economic development sectors such as agriculture, health, internet business and so on.”
China’s ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian, also assured the minister that she would send a message to other countries to support Tanzania in vying for the position which will see 13 African countries selected for ITU positions at the Bucharest conference in Romania to be held in September and October this year.
Tanzania will therefore benefit from the experience and expertise of Chinese technology companies such as ZTE for the deployment of 5G and related technologies.
In parallel, China supported Tanzania’s bid for membership in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), while taking the opportunity to ask Tanzania for its support in various aspiring positions.
The talks also focused on deploying telecommunications services in inaccessible areas, especially in rural areas, where China agreed to continue cooperating with Tanzania to ensure that the goal is achieved.