Tanzania ranks among the leading stars of the ‘African growth miracle’, but a sector
that has been largely absent from the Tanzania success story is industry. Although growth of
manufacturing has outpaced economic growth over the past decade, relative to international
norms and its ambitious plans to achieve middle-income status Tanzania suffers from a
‘manufacturing deficit’ at its current level of per capita income. The paper discusses a number of
policy initiatives that should be undertaken to strengthen the industrial sector’s recent dynamism,
including strengthening Special Economic Zones, improving trade logistics, and reforming Micro
and Small Enterprise programmes.