By Fredrick Max
Africa’s ambitions in regional and continental trade have never been clearer. With the momentum behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and record investments in infrastructure, from standard gauge railways to port expansions, East Africa is positioning itself as a powerful corridor of commerce. Tanzania, in particular, stands at the centre of this transformation, strategically connecting landlocked countries with global markets via road, rail and sea.
This ambition was evident at the 2025 East Africa Cargo Connect Summit in Dar es Salaam, where regional leaders, investors and trade professionals came together to advance Tanzania’s role as a trade and logistics hub for eastern and southern Africa. From the Port of Dar es Salaam to the standard gauge railway and one-stop border posts, it is clear that physical infrastructure is moving forward with urgency and intent.
However, there is a critical piece still missing in this impressive puzzle – financial infrastructure. While billions are being invested in physical infrastructure to move goods, the systems that move capital and the financing tools that power trade have not kept pace.
Trade corridors are only as strong as the financing that supports the businesses using them. When small logistics firms struggle to upgrade their fleets, when exporters face delays in cross-border payments and when cargo handlers lack working capital to expand, those new rail lines and ports risk being underutilised. Financial systems are the arteries of trade. Without strengthening these arteries, the body of regional trade cannot fully function.
Trade finance, once seen as the domain of large corporates, must now evolve to serve a much broader and more diverse segment of the market. East Africa’s trade growth is being driven by SMEs, cross-border traders and mid-sized logistics companies. These are businesses that need tailored working capital, invoice discounting, cross-border guarantees and insurance-backed solutions to manage risk and scale up operations. But today, many still face barriers ranging from access to collateral to regulatory fragmentation between countries.
These challenges were echoed during the summit, especially in discussions on how to support domestic and regional players to compete more effectively. It was evident that infrastructure alone will not unlock Tanzania’s potential. Finance must flow in tandem with physical movement.
Solving this challenge is not the responsibility of one actor. It calls for collaboration among commercial banks, central banks, regional bodies, development finance institutions and governments. We need more harmonised financial frameworks across the East African Community bloc. We need blended finance to de-risk lending to smaller trade actors. We also need digital solutions that can speed up trade finance transactions, improve transparency and reduce reliance on paper-based processes.
Equally important is financial literacy to ensure that businesses understand the tools available to them and how to use financing strategically to grow, not just survive. Financial institutions must move beyond being lenders; they must be partners in trade growth, helping clients understand risk, navigate border regulations and build sustainable business models.
The good news is, we do not need to build this from scratch. We already have strong institutions, growing trade volumes and a clear regional agenda. What is required now is a shared commitment to building the financial infrastructure that matches our physical ambitions. The same intentionality we apply to ports, roads and rail must be directed to the systems that fund the cargo that moves through them.
If we get this right, the benefits will extend far beyond logistics. Strengthening trade finance in East Africa means more inclusive growth, more jobs, stronger tax bases and a more resilient economy. It means our businesses are better positioned to take advantage of AfCFTA. It means we are not just building infrastructure; we are building prosperity.
As East Africa continues to invest in its role as a regional trade hub, the spotlight must now turn to the financial systems underpinning that vision. This is not the time for missed opportunities. It is the time to ensure that our trade ambitions are backed by the financial backbone to support them.
Fredrick Max is the Head of Business and Commercial Banking at Stanbic Bank Tanzania. He has over 20 years of experience in banking and financial services across Africa and is passionate about enabling trade, supporting SMEs and driving sustainable economic growth through tailored financial solutions
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Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Source: allafrica.com
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