TBS Testing

Period: 2011 - 2019
Countries: Tanzania
Implementing partners: Tanzania Bureau of Standards
Participants: Importers and Exporters in Tanzania

Project rationale

The existing standards framework in Tanzania, which is overseen by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), faces challenges of a policy, administrative, regulatory and enforcement nature. These challenges have hampered TBS’s ability to offer quality service to its stakeholders, to develop market oriented standards, and to foster the uptake and adoption of standards by the business community.

TBS with TMA’s support is embarking on a process of improving its service delivery mechanisms to its stakeholders in Tanzania. Part of this improvement includes capacity building and boosting of operational efficiency initiatives targeting its internal and external stakeholders. Key expected results include:

Increased adoption and use of standards compliance regulations by MSMEs
Increased efficiency in the administration of standards licensing and inspections
Improved National Quality Infrastructure Regulatory Regime (NQIRR)
Improved capacity to deliver services consistent with regional and internationalstandards.

Improved Capacity to Deliver Services Consistent with Regional and International Standards.

Implementation strategy

The project will assist TBS in the development of a standards training programme targeting MSMEs using conventional training methods suitable for businesses – on both analogue and digital platforms. It will also support TBS in: the development of an integrated Standards, Quality, Metrology and Testing (iSQMT) system that will automate the key administrative processes used by TBS to offer services to its stakeholders; develop a National Quality Policy Framework to establish guidelines and procedures in the development, administration, regulation and enforcement of standards in Tanzania; and develop a standards harmonisation and accreditation programme to support TBS to domesticate regionally harmonised standards and have their systems and service delivery processes accredited.