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Tanzania – The Digital Gateway to East Africa

Executive Summary

Tanzania serves as a critical subsea landing hub and interconnection point for the Great Lakes region and its landlocked neighbors. This market is a strategic necessity for enterprises requiring a resilient bridge between global subsea capacity and high-growth African economies.

Tanzania: At A Glance

FactorRating / DataNotes
Global Connectivity GradeBStrong subsea landings and expanding regional fiber.
Direct Cloud On-Ramps0 – as of September 2025Nairobi serves as the nearest primary hub.
Power CostIndustrial electricity: $0.09/kWh, as of September 2025Competitive rates with a hydro and biomass mix.
Disaster RiskModerate (4.9/10), as of September 2025Resilience planning mitigates local environmental hazards.
Tax IncentivesNo, as of September 2025Standard business regulations apply to local facilities.
Sales Tax18.00% VAT, as of September 2025Standard value-added tax for digital services.

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 10, as of September 2025. The landscape is maturing as it shifts from traditional telecommunications models to a more neutral interconnection framework. This evolution improves redundancy and provides more competitive options for enterprise users.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions, as of September 2025. There are currently no physical on-ramps for AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), or Microsoft Azure inside the country. Traffic for these services typically routes via terrestrial fiber to Nairobi, the regional hub for global hyperscalers.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Tanzania Internet eXchange (TIX) is the anchor of the local ecosystem. Located in Dar es Salaam, it facilitates efficient peering that keeps domestic traffic within the country and reduces latency.

Bare Metal: General availability is provided through regional infrastructure specialists. Providers such as Latitude.sh are commonly utilized by organizations requiring high-performance compute at the edge as of September 2025.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is $0.09/kWh, as of September 2025. This pricing supports cost-efficient large-scale deployments compared to many higher-cost African markets. The energy mix consists of approximately 60% fossil fuels and 40% renewables, primarily hydro and biomass.

Power Grid Reliability: The grid serving primary data center clusters is well-engineered and utilizes a diversified generation mix. Most facilities maintain high uptime through site-specific backup systems and redundant substation feeds to ensure continuous service for mission-critical loads.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are primarily located in Dar es Salaam. This provides immediate proximity to the banking, telecommunications, and logistics sectors, which is essential for services requiring low-latency delivery to the country's economic core.

Regional Market Reach: Tanzania is a gateway for landlocked nations including Rwanda, Malawi, and Zambia. This makes it a strategic choice for businesses looking to serve a regional population exceeding 150 million people with direct terrestrial fiber paths.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: The general corporate framework supports regional trade and cross-border data delivery. This stability helps organizations manage service provision effectively within the East African Community without relying on industry-specific incentives.

Natural Disaster Risk

The overall risk profile is Moderate (4.9/10), as of September 2025. Infrastructure resilience planning focuses on managing specific environmental hazards to maintain high availability.

  • Drought: 5.0
  • Earthquake: 4.4
  • River Flood: 4.2
  • Coastal Flood: 3.2 (Regional/Coastal specific)
  • Tsunami: 3.1 (Regional/Coastal specific)

Other environmental risks are minor or not listed for this region as of September 2025. Professional facility management in the Dar es Salaam area focuses on flood mitigation and seismic reinforcement to protect critical infrastructure assets.

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