<p></p><p>Tanzania's President Dr John Magufuli gave a new impetus to the case for industrialisation in Tanzania, profusely stating that industrialisation will form a fundamental linchpin to his plans for the country's economic transformation. By 2020 it is hoped that the industrial sector will generate 40 per cent of all new jobs.However, for Tanzania to smoothly tread its path to industrialisation, the government and the private sector must promote and support effective bank-intermediated trade finance, which is pivotal in achieving trade development. This will, in turn, help catalyse industrialisation in Tanzania and make the country to attain superior significance in not only African, but also global affairs through the growth of factories and creation of jobs. <br></p> <p>A shortage of effective trade finance is a reality holding back the competitiveness of Tanzania's manufacturing sector. This reality and the degree to which the possibility for domestic value addition is left unexploited are glaringly typified by the country's trade in cashew nuts. <br></p> <p>While according to 2012 statistics from the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Tanzania ranks as the eighth largest producer of cashew nuts in the world and is Africa's biggest grower after Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau, a recent report by the African Cashew Initiative shows that of the 145,000 MT that Tanzania produced in 2015, raw cashew nut (RCN) exportation, mainly destined for India, was 135,000 MT. This means that only 7 per cent or 10,000 MT was processed locally, missing a big opportunity to add value domestically, industrialise and create jobs.<br></p><p></p>