Paper short abstract:

Conglomerates are a specialised unit, encompassing inter-linked, economic activities, organised to complement the overall operation of the entire business. This article focuses on the evolution of Tanzania's top 5 conglomerates within a specific framing called 'Regimes of capitalist accumulation'.

Paper long abstract:

A conglomerate's operation, productive capacity and ability to innovate, in essence, 'as a sum, which is greater than its parts' is contingent on a variety of contingent on a variety of contextual factors and, even within the same political settlement, different 'conglomerates models' may emerge. While the experience of East Asian conglomerates have been widely studied, little is known about conglomerates in Africa, their emergence and different patterns and models of capitalist accumulation.

This article focuses on the emergence and evolution of Tanzania's top 5 conglomerates within a specific framing called 'Regimes of capitalist accumulation'.

Regimes of capitalist accumulation identify different 'mechanisms of rents allocation'(and their related policies, regulations and processes) which allowed conglomerates to initiate their businesses in early stages of industrialisation and, over time, to consolidate operations and diversify in related and unrelated sectors. Each regime followed a distinct pattern, building on certain existent legacies as well as constructing new mechanisms for capitalist accumulation. These regimes not only enabled conglomerates to have precedence over other businesses as 'market makers' and 'rents extractors', they also continue to define their contemporary characteristics and distinct business models.

Within the 'Regimes of Capitalist Accumulation' framework, the paper will track the experience of 5 major groups, and how they have been responding, shaping and adapting to these different regimes and the productive and unproductive use they have made of these rents over time.