The Tanzanian Fuel Station Boom: What No One’s Telling You

Here’s the deal. Tanzania’s fuel station market is evolving fast, and if you’re not paying attention, you’re going to miss the real story.

A 2021 survey by international research group Kalibrate revealed some fascinating insights into Tanzania’s fuel market. Let me break it down for you.

• 130 fuel stations have shut down.
• 153 new ones are being built.

At first glance, it looks like progress.

But here’s the kicker: most people looking at these numbers have no idea what they actually mean.

Dar es Salaam: The Shiny Object

Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s fuel hub, with petrol sales soaring 60% above the national average.

Sounds like the perfect place for new fuel stations, right?

Yet only 25% of new stations are being built in the Eastern region.

What’s going on? Why aren’t investors flooding into this high-profit zone?

Simple. They’re focusing on the wrong metrics. Building new stations might look like growth, but the truth is this: growth without strategy is just gambling.

What Most Businesses Get Wrong

Now let’s talk about the 130 closures. That’s not bad luck. That’s bad strategy.

The days of picking a random plot of land and expecting profits are over. Your competitors are playing smarter.

They’re optimizing their networks, zoning in on high-demand locations, and leaving everyone else in the dust.

If you’re not doing the same, you can results in up to 30% revenue loss over the long- term .

The No-Bullshit Takeaway

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Stop chasing growth for the sake of growth.If your location decisions aren’t backed by solid data, you’re setting yourself up to up to 30% revenue loss over the long term.

2 . Look where at sites that has a high potential sales volume .
Invest in location which has a potential to generate high sales volume .

3 . Play the long game.
Don’t just build a fuel station. Build a network. A network optimized for performance, not ego.

Why This Matters

The market won’t wait for you to figure it out. Your competitors are already moving—investing in data, analyzing demand, and fine-tuning their operations.

Through our data- driven market analysis and petrol station location feasibility study  you can identify high impact-oppportunities and mitigate risks that others in the industry might overlook.

Most people are still playing checkers when they should be playing chess.

If you want to thrive, let alone survive, you need to act now.

One Last Thing

Success in this market isn’t about being the fastest or the flashiest. It’s about being the smartest. And that means making decisions based on strategy, not guesswork.

.That’s how you win.