Mammoth task ahead of new AICC boss, Mafuru

Arusha. Ephraim Balozi Mafuru, the newly appointed managing director of the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), has a herculean task ahead of him.

He will have to ensure Arusha-based convention centre is back on the rails in an increasingly changing convention tourism market.

Ideally that means enabling the AICC Arusha to attract more conferences to its meeting halls and its landmark office block, now half empty. AICC owns two major conference centres, the one based in Arusha, which carries the name of the institution and the Dar es Salaam-based Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC).

Until his appointment by President Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday, Mr Mafuru was the Head of Corporate Affairs of Kilombero Sugar Company Limited (KSCL) located in Morogoro region.

He joins the AICC with a wealth of knowledge and experience in strategic communications blended with commercial advocacy.

At Kilombero, he dealt with public and media relations, government relations, compliance and stakeholders’ engagement. Ephraim Mafuru is a respected name in the marketing arena, having spearheaded the branding strategies of several bluechip firms in the market.

Prior to joining KSCL, he served as marketing director for Serengeti Breweries Ltd (SBL), a subsidiary of East African Breweries Limited (EABL). He holds an MBA from the University of Dar es salaam Business School (UDBS), BCom in Marketing (UDBS) and a Diploma in Business Administration (Marketing) from the College of Business Education (CBE) Dar es Salaam.

Mafuru started his carrier with Kibo Breweries Limited as a sales representative in Dar es Salaam and then moved to Morogoro and Dodoma. After spending time in sales and distribution, he joined the firm’s marketing department as an assistant brand manager for Malta Guinness.

Mafuru spearheaded the test market and launch of Malta Guinness, the first locally produced malt energy drink in Tanzania. During that time, the brand grew from 0 to 45,000 cases per month in only 12 months of its existence.

During the merger of EABL and SAB Miller, Mafuru was one of the few employees who were retained, and he was promoted to the role of brand manager for EABL brands, taking charge of Tusker, Pilsner Ice, Guinness and Malta Guinness.

Mafuru later joined Vodacom Tanzania as marketing manager in July 2005. He managed several projects that have helped Vodacom Tanzania become the leading cellular company.

He was one of the brains behind such brand positioning activities as Vodacom Miss Tanzania, Vodacom Premier League, Mwanza Cycle Challenge, Vodacom Kilimanjaro 5km Fun Run, and several brand campaigns, including Vodacom’s 5th Birthday, VodaMillionaire, Shinda Mkoko, Nipige Tafu, “Habari Ndiyo Hii!” 2006 FIFA World Cup Consumer Promotion, and Vodacom’s brand campaign “Pamoja Daima,” among others.

Tough task ahead

Mafuru is joining the AICC at a time when the Arusha-based convention centre has lost its shine as the country’s brand for ‘bringing the world’ to Tanzania.

Tens of hundreds of delegates who used to fill the AICC’s meeting halls or mill around its premises during conferences are now rare.

Hundreds of the office spaces at the seven-storey, three-winged complex in the heart of Arusha are half empty for lack of tenants.

This is not necessarily because the management has slept on their job though it is a fact that the position of managing director had been vacant since July 2021 following the death of Elishilia Kaaya who served in that position for over 16 years. In its long history, the AICC has never received a subsidy from the government, even during challenging times.

But there is no contention that AICC is now operating in a different environment compared to when it was established in 1978.

Years ago, the centre used to monopolise the conference sector, probably because it was the only facility with modern conference facilities.

Ever since, especially after the liberalisation of the economy, there have been many players in the convention industry, mainly hotels.

The changed government policies on public expenditure on conferences and the Covid-19 outbreak were another blow to AICC’s core business.

Alongside the reduced number of conference delegates, it lost tenants for its large office blocks and business areas. This was especially noticeable following the dissolution of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which used to occupy more than half of the 23,000 square metres of office space.

Mr Mafuru’s appointment has been welcomed by the tourism industry and related stakeholders in Arusha, the country’s Safari capital.

They regretted that the centre had not had a substantive MD for a long time. “He will lighten up activities at the centre,” said one of them.

The AICC also has 650 housing units scattered throughout Arusha’s suburbs since the 1970s, as well as recently constructed residential flats.

Even though the residential units were a reliable source of income for the parastatal, landlord and tenant disputes have resulted in multiple court proceedings.

The AICC has lately grappled with some stalled projects. They include the proposed construction of a conference facility in Arusha to be known as the Mt Kilimanjaro International Convention Centre (MK-ICC).

Top notch consultants were hired from the University of Dar es Salaam to work on the massive project that was estimated to cost a whooping $206 million.

A 23-acre plot was secured at Themi along the Njiro road southeast of Arusha for the proposed facility that was to include shopping malls, a hotel, and eating joints.

The new convention centre was conceived way back in 2008. It is now evident that MK-ICC will have to wait much longer.

When an additional convention centre project simply failed to take off, there was another one to construct; a shopping mall at Kaloleni.

Several old residential buildings owned by the AICC since the 1970s were pulled down to pave way for new blocks, a joint venture with one of the pension funds.