Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the historical evolution of Tanzanian conglomerates with a specific focus on 'Regimes of Capitalist Accumulation'.

Paper long abstract:

Authors: Antonio Andreoni and Farwa Sial

Conglomerates or diversified business groups are a specialised unit, encompassing inter-linked, market-based economic activities, which are organised to complement the overall operation of the entire business. Complementarity operates in different ways, from leveraging financial resources and reallocating internally generated profits, to developing upstream and downstream activities, 'internal markets' and services along several value chains.

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 contextual factors and, even within the same political settlement, different 'conglomerates models' may emerge. While the experience of conglomerates such as keiretsu and chaebols 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 five conglomerates within a specific framing called 'Regimes of capitalist accumulation'.

Regimes of capitalist accumulation identify different 'mechanisms of rents allocation'(and the 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.