Exchange-Traded Funds
Exchange-traded funds let an investor own a diversified basket of securities in a single, listed share — lower cost and simpler than buying each stock individually. Tanzania’s ETF market opened in late 2025 and already has two listings with very different mandates.
Vertex VIS-ETF
Tanzania’s first ETF, listed 16 October 2025, managed by Vertex International Securities with NBC Bank as custodian. It tracks a diversified basket of actively-traded Tanzanian equities — including CRDB, NMB, NICO, DSE Plc and Afriprise — giving one-trade exposure to the local market. The IPO drew a 136% subscription, mostly from retail investors, against a ~TZS 10bn target.
Use case: broad, low-effort exposure to the Tanzanian equity market in a single listed share.
IEACLC-ETF (East Africa large-cap)
The second ETF on the DSE, which invests in a diversified portfolio of large-cap equities across the East African Community — Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Its listing was met with a striking 540% oversubscription, a strong signal of appetite for regional diversification.
Use case: regional (EAC-wide) equity diversification beyond Tanzania alone.
Tracking both ETFs
Two readings matter for an ETF: its NAV per unit (the value of what it holds) and its market price (what it trades at on the DSE). When they diverge, the unit trades at a discount or premium to NAV.
An ETF’s value tracks the basket of securities it holds. Key things to check: what it holds (the index or strategy), its fees (expense ratio), how closely it tracks its benchmark, and its on-exchange liquidity. ETFs spread risk across many holdings, but they still rise and fall with their underlying market.