VODACOM Tanzania is the top employer in the telecommunication industry thanks to its massive size and investment.
The mobile phone service provider, which also leads in market share, has employed some 600 staff where only five are foreigners.
The firm is the only listed firm on Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and has over 15 million subscribers. It was closed at 850/- on Wednesday.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Investment) Angellah Kairuki was pleased by the fact that telecoms have offered significant direct and indirect employment to Tanzanians.
Available data showed that over 95 per cent of total Tele-sector employment are held by locals, including top positions.
This she said has “impressed the government… and is a great milestone that gives hope that in the future Tanzanians will run these companies on their own.”
The employment data for Airtel, Halotel, TTCL and Smile was not available. Other data showed Tigo Tanzania came second with 372 staff while only three are foreigners.
Then Zantel employed 117 people where 99 per cent are locals.
Vodacom Tanzania Corporate Communication Director Ms Rosalynn Mworia said they are preparing a strategic succession plan, which will see locals transferred to overseas offices and receive further training.
“Six Tanzanians have assumed key management roles in our sister companies in South Africa, Lesotho and Mozambique. “While over 90 per cent of top positions are held by locals,” Ms Mworia told the minister during the tour.
Tanzania’s mobile market is served by seven mobile operators, which, with their market shares in brackets at March, are Vodacom (32 per cent), Airtel (27 per cent), Tigo (26 per cent), Halotel (11 per cent), Zantel (2 per cent), TTCL (2 per cent), and Smile (0.002 per cent).
According to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) there were 48.93 million subscribers in the country at the end of March. However, the majority of the population is multiple sim cardholders.
The jobs are in the form of agents for mobile money services, SIM card sales points and data scattered countrywide.