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- Apr 10, 2008
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Tanzanias movie industry, commonly referred to as Swahiliwood has the potential to grow into one of the most important sectors of the countrys economy if bottlenecks facing the sector are dealt with once and for all, an expert has said.
The sector can create jobs in abundance and bring more revenue to government coffers, according to the Media for Development International Tanzania (MFDI-TZ).
MFDI-TZ is the local chapter of a family of non-profit organisations that promote development through socially conscious programming in Tanzania and Africa at large.
The organisation says in fact, Tanzanias movies have outpaced the dominance of Nigerian movies in the local market, indicating that more could be done if challenges of low technical capacity and relatively high marketing and distribution costs are dealt with once and for all.
There are some potential opportunities for building the industry infrastructure, and creating jobs along the value chain. Potential demand appears high since 76 per cent of outlet owners that were interviewed cited three-fold growth of their outlets in the last three years, the MFDI director, John Riber told The Citizen yesterday. He called upon the government and donor agencies to work together in the endeavor to build the capacity of those involved in the film industry so that they can produce quality products that meet the demands of various audiences.
This, he said, could be done through education, technical training, and financial support.
To deal with the problem of high distribution costs, Riber proposes the need to introduce competition at the intermediary levels of distribution. Basically, until about six years ago, the industry was dominated by the distribution of pirated films from Hollywood, Bollywood, and Nollywood.
But things have changed with production of movies in the Kiswahili language becoming a household name in Tanzania and within other member states of the East African Community .
Tanzania Film Federation president Simon Mwakifwamba noted that for such projects to yield quick economic gains to the intended audience, they should extend beyond Dar es Salaam.
The sector can create jobs in abundance and bring more revenue to government coffers, according to the Media for Development International Tanzania (MFDI-TZ).
MFDI-TZ is the local chapter of a family of non-profit organisations that promote development through socially conscious programming in Tanzania and Africa at large.
The organisation says in fact, Tanzanias movies have outpaced the dominance of Nigerian movies in the local market, indicating that more could be done if challenges of low technical capacity and relatively high marketing and distribution costs are dealt with once and for all.
There are some potential opportunities for building the industry infrastructure, and creating jobs along the value chain. Potential demand appears high since 76 per cent of outlet owners that were interviewed cited three-fold growth of their outlets in the last three years, the MFDI director, John Riber told The Citizen yesterday. He called upon the government and donor agencies to work together in the endeavor to build the capacity of those involved in the film industry so that they can produce quality products that meet the demands of various audiences.
This, he said, could be done through education, technical training, and financial support.
To deal with the problem of high distribution costs, Riber proposes the need to introduce competition at the intermediary levels of distribution. Basically, until about six years ago, the industry was dominated by the distribution of pirated films from Hollywood, Bollywood, and Nollywood.
But things have changed with production of movies in the Kiswahili language becoming a household name in Tanzania and within other member states of the East African Community .
Tanzania Film Federation president Simon Mwakifwamba noted that for such projects to yield quick economic gains to the intended audience, they should extend beyond Dar es Salaam.
