TANZANIA is on track to establish a large factory for manufacturing laptops under the brand name Tanzanite.

Dr Nkundwe Mwasaga, the Information and Communication Technologies Commission (ICTC) director general, said in a presentation to a parliamentary committee here yesterday that a substantial portion of the laptops will be dedicated to advancing ICT proficiency in schools, from primary to secondary levels.

He stated before members of the parliamentary standing committee on Infrastructure that these achievements are a result of government efforts to attract investment and promote the local production of ICT equipment.

“We are making good progress,’ he said, noting that commission officials had visited QuadGen Wireless Solutions Pvt. Ltd in the Indian city of Bangalore.

An ICTC team was there to assess the company’s capabilities after the firm expressed readiness to invest in a factory that will assemble laptops and smart boards for use in schools, he stated.

Discussions are being pursued with the company to facilitate joint-venture investments in a local semi-knocked down assembly plants and completely knocked down manufacturing plants, he elaborated.

This objective is aligned with the African Union's goal for the continent to establish assembling plants for producing ICT equipment, he specified.

A collaboration agreement has been struck with AlmaWave, an Italian company specialising in the development of artificial intelligence systems for proto-human communication, using Kiswahili.

ICTC intends to work with the company and various other institutions large language model (LLM) enabling the growth of Kiswahili in the artificial intelligence domain globally, he stated.

"This initiative will create opportunities for Tanzanians to use Kiswahili in developing innovations across various economic sectors,” he said, underlining its potential to significantly expand the market for Kiswahili and strengthen Tanzania's digital economy.

Selemani Kakoso (Mpanda Rural), the parliamentary committee chairman, praised ICTC initiatives urging it to expedite its implementation.

The nation is now focused on building a digital economy, especially leveraging its large youth population, he said, insisting on seizing such opportunities to benefit the country.

‘Mistakes were made in the past when investors expressed interest in producing goods locally but eventually relocated to neighboring countries,” he admitted.

“We are the ones who speak fluent Kiswahili, but others are the ones benefiting from it the most. Let’s change that,” the parliamentarian insisted

"You must oversee this to ensure that Kiswahili brings greater benefits to the country," he added.