Gen Saleh, Tanzania Tycoon Dewji Discuss Recycling, Manufacturing and Investment

Tanzanian billionaire businessman Mohammed Dewji has held talks with Gen. (Rtd) Caleb Akandwanaho, popularly known as Salim Saleh, on investment and industrialisation opportunities linking Uganda and Tanzania.

Dewji, the president and chief executive of Tanzanian conglomerate MeTL Group, said the discussions with Saleh, who is the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), focused on areas including recycling and local manufacturing, digital connectivity and food security.

In a post on X, Dewji said the meeting explored opportunities capable of creating jobs, reducing reliance on imports and increasing the value of products manufactured and produced in Africa.

“It was a pleasure meeting General Caleb Akandwanaho (Salim Saleh), Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC),” Dewji said.

He described the discussions as covering investment, industrialisation and opportunities across Uganda and Tanzania, with particular attention to sectors that could strengthen local production and regional economic integration.

The meeting comes as OWC places renewed emphasis on value addition and manufacturing. In September, the organisation announced the transformation of its former Value Addition function into a dedicated Directorate of Value Addition and Manufacturing as part of institutional reforms aimed at strengthening industrialisation, job creation and service delivery.

OWC was established in 2013 to support Uganda’s socio-economic transformation, including the commercialisation of agriculture, local enterprise development and the transition of smallholder farmers towards productive and income-generating activities.

For Dewji, the Uganda engagement fits into a broader regional expansion strategy by MeTL Group, whose interests span agriculture, manufacturing, food and beverages, textiles, energy, logistics, financial services and other sectors across several African markets. The group has also been expanding its investment footprint beyond Tanzania, including a recently announced $250 million investment commitment in Mozambique.

Dewji said stronger economic cooperation among East African countries could help the region make greater use of its resources, markets and productive capacity.

“Across East Africa, we have the resources, markets and capacity to achieve much more together,” he said, adding that African investment in African businesses and industries could help drive the continent’s industrial development.

The meeting highlights the potential intersection between Uganda’s push for value addition and industrialisation and Tanzania’s growing private-sector investment capacity, particularly in manufacturing, agriculture and regional supply chains.

For Uganda and Tanzania, deeper business-to-business investment could also complement efforts to expand intra-African trade by increasing production within the region and reducing dependence on imported finished goods.

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