The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) was incorporated in 1996 as a private company limited by guarantee (a not-for-profit body), as part of broad economic
reform under the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP).
DSE became operational in 1998 after listing TOL and has since then facilitated more than TZS 1.3trn in equity capital issuances. In 2015, DSE was demutualized (became
for-profit and limited by shares), and subsequently self-listed in July 2016 after an IPO oversubscribed by 477%. In 2019 DSE was classified as a Frontier Market by FTSE Russell.
The government is the largest shareholder, holding 15% of the Exchange, followed by Brianwood Capital Partners with 12% ownership. DSE has one fully owned subsidiary, Central Securities Depository & Registry (CSDR), formed in January 2017 to provide clearing, settlement and registry services for financial securities. As of 2021, the subsidiary accounts for 13% of the company’s total revenue.
