This policy brief presents a summary of key findings and recommendations from the REPOA study on the role of Innovation and Technology Upgrading (herein after, ITU) on competitiveness of Tanzania’s industrial and export sectors. To achieve its objective, the study was structured into three complementary components. The first component set the stage by conducting a situational analysis, where we assessed the current status and trends in technology and innovation profile among the Tanzanian manufacturing industrial sectors. Given the dearth of empirical evidence to support policy dialogue on ITU agenda in Tanzania, the second component focused on the empirical analysis, using the existing Annual Survey of Industrial Production (ASIP) data to identify drivers of innovation and technology upgrading at firm level and examined its impact on firms’ competitiveness. Finally, to shed light on how firms can practically leverage innovation and technology upgrading, the third and final component presented a case study analysis based on the practical experiences of a few selected firms in order to identify and profile success factors and cases where ITU has led to dramatic improvement on firms’ performance and competitiveness. The case study approach is justified in that it addressed the limitations of the ASIP data, which does not provide detailed information on the firms’ ITUs experience, challenges and prospects.
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