Investment opportunities in existing UDSM Companies

Presently, the UDSM owns two companies that can be considered for joint venture investments. These are DUP (1996) Ltd and UCC (Ltd.). Whilst DUP (1996) Ltd. was established in 1996, the UCC (Ltd.) was only registered in January 2001.

(i) DUP (1996) Ltd.
From the time of its establishment following the transformation of the University Press in 1996, DUP has been in dire need for capitalization in order to modernize its printing plant and its publishing capacity. However, to date, no substantial capitalization has been forthcoming from within the University. Otherwise, DUP (1996) Ltd. boasts of being one of the University publishing institutions in the region as it dates back to 1979 when it beared the name of Dar es Salaam University Press (DUP).

The Company also boasts of capacity to publish both purely educative or academic books and also the leisure type of publications. Its staff was in 1996, reduced from 120 to 45. The present staff are well experienced and disciplined. Further details about DUP (1996) Ltd. can be seen in the profile booklet of DUP (1996) Ltd. The most suitable mode of investment in this type of venture is the joint venture mode. However, other modes are open for consideration.

(ii) UCC Ltd
This Company was recently established to provide an opportunity for the University Computing Centre to enhance its capacity as a centre of IT excellence, to improve its services to the UDSM at lower cost and leverage itselft to be the cuttings edge and leading ICT service provider in Tanzania and the sub-region. Presently wholly owned by UDSM, UCC wishes to attract top ICT firms from Africa and globally to develop strategic partnerships and joint venture arrangements for initial benefit.

The company has many opportunities to exploit currently the most advanced Information and Communication skills and facilities in East and Central Africa. Commercial joint ventures through MoUs for joint development of softwares, offer of dedicated e-mail services, joint offering of internationally recognized IT training courses, and local assembly of computers in collaboration with multi-national companies or their local agencies for use in the education and health sectors and in government Ministries and Departments (Local and Central Government) would be some of the attractive commercial propositions that can be examined.