On 14th June 2022, Ambassador Baraka H. Luvanda received Ms. Yuriko Nomura, Director of AAIC South Africa (Pty) Ltd accompanied by Ms. Saki Okawa of the same company, who paid a courtesy call at the Chancery in Tokyo.  AAIC is a company that provides support services to Asian companies for their market access and business expansion in Africa. The company was founded in March 2008 and it is based in Singapore, with eight (8) branches worldwide out of which four (4) are in Africa.

Ms. Nomura thanked Ambassador Luvanda for the warm welcome and explained the purpose of their visit was to inform him about the ongoing consultations between her company and a Japanese FMCG manufacturing company. She further informed that FMCG is interested in establishing a manufacturing factory in Tanzania through Special Economic Zone (SEZ) setup. The main products to be produced are plastic containers for household and the estimated sales regions are Eastern and Southern African countries, she added. Hence, they were looking for the guidance and relevant information for their client to be able to pursue investment adventure in Tanzania. 

Ambassador Luvanda expressed his appreciation for their visit and efforts to influence Japanese companies including, FMCG to come and invest in Tanzania as well as for making Tanzania the preferred destination for Japanese investments. He briefed them on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Export Processing Zone (EPZ) arrangements in Tanzania; and further highlighted the Tanzania’s manufacturing regulations as well as the relevant institutions for consultation in case of need for specific information to guide their clients. 

Ambassador Luvanda promised that the Embassy will provide further information they may need in future, as well as, working closely with them to enable Japanese companies invest in Tanzania. He also assured AAIC of the friendly and conducive environment, stable macroeconomic and fiscal policies, the presence of skilled labor force and market access to not only within the EAC and SADC regions, but also to the whole African continent.