For Those Who Want To INVEST IN STOCKS but Have Failed to Start

Want to invest in Tanzanian stocks but feel unsure? Read through if you want to take your first step.

You want to start your journey in stocks but don’t know how…

Or you’ve heard about stocks but would like to know more.

Keep reading and you’ll discover that it is not as difficult as you think.

One American boy started selling soda and newspapers at the age of 6,

…and bought his first shares of the Citizen Service Company at 11 years old.

After making a small profit, he decided to sell them and once he sold them, the stock prices rose rapidly. 

He then learnt the importance of patience in stocks investing.

As a young man, he researched companies and real values of companies so that he could buy stocks of very good companies,

…but at a very cheap price.

He got a friend, by the name of Charlie, who later taught him how to find excellent companies but not necessarily at cheap stock prices.

Starting with his family’s money in investments, this young man bought shares of companies like Coca-Cola, American Express, and Apple.

The young man and Charlie, became business partners and through their company, Berkshire Hathaway,

continued to focus on businesses that are;

✔ easy to understand, 

✔ with good leadership, and 

✔ capable of giving consistent and growing profit.

The name of this man who is currently 94 years old (as of 2025) has a name you have probably already heard,

Warren Buffet.

One share, class A share, of his investment company is sold at more than 725,000 dollars (approximately 2 billion Tanzanian shillings).

So, what are the important things to know before investing in stocks? 

1. The Meaning of Stocks

A stock is a part of ownership of a company or a business. 

The ownership of a company is done in units called shares which are sold at a price relative to the particular company (stock price).

Therefore, if one share of company X is 1,000/=, it means 10,000/= gives you ownership of 10 shares of company X.

You can find out more about the companies in the Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), through their website.

Examples of Tanzanian companies in the stock market are;

CRDB Bank, NMB Bank, Tanzania Breweries (TBL), and Tanzania Portland Cement (Twiga Cement -TPCC).

2. What are the Advantages of Investing in Stocks?

Due to the demand and supply of stocks in the stock market, stock prices fluctuate (goes up and down).

Individuals and institutions sell shares when they increase in price (capital gain). This is the first benefit.

For instance, 

if you buy one share of company X for 1,000/= shillings and after two months, the share price has become 1,400/=, 

…you have a profit of 400/= for each share you own.

A good example is that in July, 2024, the price of one CRDB bank share was about 600/= shillings, 

but by July 2025, the share price had grown to 840/= shillings.

Investing in stocks can give you significant results when you do it with a long-term mindset.

The second benefit of investing in stocks is to get dividend income, which companies usually give once per year.

With respect to the revenue generated in a fiscal year, some companies distribute a part of their profit to investors.

When you receive the dividend, you will decide to reinvest them or spend them somehow else.

3. The Challenges of Investing in Stocks

Smart Investing is the one by which you will understand and accept the risks of losing money before making such a decision.

Investing in Stocks has more risk compared to investing in Mutual Funds and Bonds.

Not having the right knowledge before investing in stocks is a challenge that many investors face. So;

✔ Understand the basics of stocks, different companies, price changes, and how to choose the company stock to invest in.

You can get a finance educator or an investment professional to make this task easier for you. 

In mutual funds, investment professionals make investment decisions on your behalf.

✔ Monitor the progress of the company you want to invest in. 

Understanding the financial progress of a company will allow you to decide whether to buy, reduce or re-allocate your shares.

Getting into online personal finance communities (like Whatsapp) will make it easier for you to know,

…what is happening in the stock market.

✔ Invest according to your Risk Appetite.

Stocks can bring about a significant capital gain or capital loss respective of the company performance, 

…so the shares may drop in value or you may not be able to sell any shares when there is no demand for them in the market.

4. Stock Prices and How to Choose

As we saw in the meaning of stocks,

…shares vary in price depending on the respective companies which started from their book value; the real value of the company.

Example, for the companies listed on DSE that sold and bought shares on the 4th of July, 2025,

stock prices ranged from 145/= shillings (DCB: Commercial Bank) to 16,010/= shillings (TCC: Tanzania Cigarette Company – Cigarettes) for one share.

But as in our story about Warren and Charlie, profit does not come from cheap stock prices alone,

…but also from the quality of the company’s operations and its history of generating consistent profits every year.

And our last important thing is,

5. How to Start Investing in Stocks

After getting the right information on stocks and choosing a company to invest in,

you will choose a broker to sell and buy shares on your behalf, and

place your buy order through the Hisa Kiganjani app, the DSE website, or through your broker based on what you agree.

Make the payment through the control number provided to you and wait up to 3 working days,

to know if your purchase order has been fulfilled or expired and will have to repost it again.

When your purchases are completed, your broker will send you the transaction receipt.

You can download a stock investment tracker illustrated below to monitor your stocks investment, when you decide to start:

If you want to know how stock prices relate to the return you get, you can read here.

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PS:

Your goals make your journey to financial freedom easier.

Start today!

Money-ly Yours,

Gracing Money!

References:

1] Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange Market Report, Friday, 4th July 2025.

2] Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange, dse.co.tz

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