DAR ES SALAAM: BANKS track customer behaviour in real time. Telecom companies analyse usage patterns every hour. Insurance firms price risk based on claims history. Retailers monitor stock movement daily.
Even small businesses now use mobile payments and keep digital transaction records. This means one thing. Tanzania now has more data than at any point in its history.
But here is the uncomfortable truth. Having data does not mean you are using it well. Many companies are sitting on valuable data but still making decisions blindly.
They collect. They store. They report. But they do not analyse deeply. They do not turn numbers into strategy.
They do not turn insight into money. That gap is now one of the biggest economic risks in the country today. Because the companies that learn how to use data properly will outcompete those that do not.
And this is already happening. Look at the banking sector. A few years ago, lending decisions relied heavily on basic financial statements and manual assessment.
Today, forward looking banks are using behavioural data, transaction patterns and credit history to assess risk more accurately.
Banks have invested in data systems that allow them to monitor customer activity, predict loan performance and design products that match real customer needs.
Better risk control. Better customer targeting and higher returns. The telecom sector tells the same story. Telecoms process millions of transactions every day.
Behind every call, every SMS and every mobile money transfer is data. That data is used to design bundles, predict churn, detect fraud and optimise network investments. It is not just about technology. It is about revenue.
The more accurately a telecom understands its users, the more effectively it can sell.
This reduces losses and improves profitability. Retail is changing too. Supermarkets and distributors now track stock movement, sales velocity and regional demand patterns.
This allows them to reduce waste, avoid stock-outs and improve cash flow. And then there is the biggest transformation of all; mobile money.
Platforms such as M-Pesa Tanzania and Mixx by Yas have created one of the richest transaction data ecosystems in Africa. Every payment, every transfer, every bill payment generates a data trail.
This data is shaping credit scoring, small business financing and even government revenue planning. So yes. Data is already shaping Tanzania’s economy.
But here is the real question is: Who is benefiting from it? Right now, it is mainly the large and well-structured organisations.
They have the systems. They have the analysts. They have the dashboards. Many SMEs in Tanzania have data. They have sales records. They have customer lists.
They have transaction histories. But most of them do not analyse it. They do not know their most profitable customers. They do not know their peak sales hours. They do not know which products give them the highest margins. So, they guess.
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This is where the next economic shift will happen. The businesses that will grow fastest in Tanzania over the next five years will be the ones that understand their data. Because data answers the questions that drive profit: Which customers should we target?
Which products should we promote? Where are we losing money? Where should we invest next? Without data, those answers are opinions. With data, they become measurable decisions. But there is another layer that Tanzania must address.
Data quality. Bad data is more dangerous than no data. If your data is incomplete, inconsistent or inaccurate, the decisions you make will be wrong. This is a serious issue across many institutions today. Data sits in different systems.
Definitions are not standardised. Reports do not match. This leads to confusion, delays and poor strategy. For Tanzania to fully benefit from the data economy, three things must happen.
First, companies must invest in data governance. Clean data. Standard definitions. Reliable systems. Second, organisations must invest in analytics skills. Third, leaders must start making decisions based on evidence, not hierarchy or habit.
The CEO must ask for data before approving strategy. Managers must track performance using metrics.
That is how you build a data-driven economy. There is also a national opportunity here. As more sectors digitise, Tanzania is creating a massive economic asset in the form of data.
If this data is used well, it can improve tax collection, infrastructure planning, financial inclusion and job creation. If it is ignored, it becomes wasted potential.
The country has already taken the first step by digitising transactions across banking, telecom, insurance and retail.
Now the next step is to turn that data into intelligence. And then turn that intelligence into growth. Because in today’s economy, data is a competitive advantage and a revenue driver.
And for the businesses and leaders who learn how to use it well, it will be the difference between surviving and leading Tanzania’s next phase of economic growth.