Viettel Tanzania claims investment award

“This award is warmly welcomed by the government as it demonstrates that the service and commitment afforded to investors through our agency is of a global standard,” TIC’s Executive Director Juliet Kairuki said.

Viettel started investing in Tanzania in 2011. Its proposal to invest an initial amount of US$736 million was approved, following President Dr Jakaya Kikwete’s visit to Vietnam last year.

The criteria by which TIC won the award included the size of the investment, scale of job creation, trade balance effects (the percentage of output exported and volume of imports substituted), and local linkages (volume of local sourcing, number of local suppliers and other local commitments), as well as knowledge transfer (investment in research and development, training and education).

Viettel’s investment in Tanzania created an estimated 1,722 direct jobs, while an additional 20,000 indirect jobs will be created through their collaborator programmes and partners. It plans to provide 3G access to at least 4,000 villages, accounting for 70% of the country’s total number of villages by 2017.