Infrastructure & finance: Absa Investment Bank says East African pension funds are increasingly backing innovative off-balance-sheet financing to fund government infrastructure, with securitisation and structured lending gaining traction. Public procurement digitisation: Tanzania’s NeST electronic procurement system has been integrated with 30+ institutional and service systems to speed tendering and verify bidder information, cutting forged-document risks. Trade & logistics: DP World and WFP delivered 5,000 tonnes of rice via Dar es Salaam to Burundi, DRC and Rwanda to support emergency food assistance for over 14,200 people for a month. Cement price pressure: Tanzania has given cement producers eight days to boost supplies and lower prices after retail hikes, with government monitoring and possible further action. Local revenue push: A minister urged councils to stop “milking the cow thin” by hiking levies and instead develop new local investment and trading ventures under Vision 2050. Identity & compliance tech: Tanzania is linking RITA with NIDA to issue Jamii Namba from birth, while Shufti launched an “Innovation Drop” to unify identity verification and compliance tools. Investment & industry: An Algerian cashew processor plans three modern plants in Tanzania to add value and create jobs; Saudi-Tanzania business talks also target livestock and blue-economy opportunities. Regional security: Fresh tanker piracy off Somalia raises shipping risks that can ripple into fuel and trade costs across the region.