Hadija Jabiri
Hadija Jabiri, founder of agribusiness company GBRI, sees untapped potential across Tanzania’s agricultural sector, particularly in processing fruit, vegetables and grains into value-added products.
“You can make a lot of money out of it,” she said in a recent interview with How we made it in Africa, pointing to excess production and widespread post-harvest losses.
Jabiri noted that Tanzania has ample agricultural land, favourable weather conditions and affordable labour. Her company, GBRI, began by producing vegetables and later shifted to avocados, which it now exports to markets including Europe and India.
Investors can target both Tanzania’s market of over 70 million people and its neighbouring countries, according to Jabiri. As a member of the East African Community – which includes Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia – Tanzania is part of a trade bloc with a combined population of more than 330 million. She also sees opportunities to export to Southern African countries.
Jabiri highlighted fertiliser production as another opportunity. Roughly 90% of fertiliser used in Tanzania is imported, despite the country having the raw materials needed to manufacture it locally.
GBRI’s future ambitions go well beyond avocados. “I’m envisioning that in the next 20 years … GBRI will probably be called a group of companies, having many more factories, doing many more businesses along the agriculture value chain,” said Jabiri. “There are so many potential opportunities in the country.”
Watch our full interview with Hadija Jabiri: The entrepreneur exporting Tanzania’s agricultural products to Europe
