Opening a new office in Dar es Salaam comes with a long list of procurement decisions. Get them right, and your team starts day one productive. Get them wrong, and you will be juggling vendor follow-ups for months.
This checklist covers everything we typically see new offices in Tanzania need, organised by category so you can prioritise and budget.
1. Computing & IT infrastructure
For most modern offices, IT equipment represents the largest single line item. Plan it carefully — getting consistent specifications across your team makes support and training much easier.
Per-employee essentials
- Laptop or desktop PC — for most knowledge work, a 14 or 15 inch business-grade laptop with at least 8GB RAM and an SSD is the practical baseline
- Monitor — a 24 inch external display dramatically improves productivity for hybrid laptop users
- Keyboard & mouse — wired or wireless, but standardise across the team
- Headset — for video calls; particularly important in shared spaces
Shared office IT
- Multifunction printer — for offices of 5 to 20 people, one networked A4 MFP is typically enough
- UPS units — Dar es Salaam power can be inconsistent; 1500VA UPS for critical workstations is highly recommended
- Networking — managed switch, business-grade WiFi router, and quality LAN cabling
- Projector or large display — for the conference room
2. Office furniture & ergonomics
This is the second-largest budget line and the most under-prioritised. Cheap office chairs result in higher long-term costs through staff back pain and lost productivity.
- Ergonomic chairs — mesh-back, adjustable height and lumbar support
- Desks — standard 120cm or 140cm width per workstation
- Filing cabinets — even in a digital office, you will need a few
- Meeting room table and chairs sized for your team
3. Stationery & office consumables
Easy to underestimate, but these run out fast. Plan a one-month starter pack and set up recurring reorder cycles.
- A4 photocopy paper (start with 2 to 3 cartons)
- Printer toner and ink cartridges (have backups for each model)
- Pens, pencils, highlighters, markers
- Box files, lever-arch files, folders
- Sticky notes, notebooks, paper clips, staplers
4. Pantry & break room
Often overlooked until the first week, when staff realise they have nowhere to make tea. Get this sorted before move-in: drinking water dispenser, kettle, mugs, coffee and tea, microwave, disposable cups and cutlery for visitors, cleaning supplies.
5. Cleaning, hygiene & safety
- Hand sanitiser dispensers (wall-mounted and desktop)
- Bathroom consumables and general cleaning supplies
- First-aid kit and fire extinguishers (required for compliance)
The most common mistake we see with new office setups: ordering equipment from 6+ different vendors. By the time everything is delivered, you have spent weeks chasing follow-ups and reconciling invoices.
How to streamline procurement
Instead of fragmenting your purchasing, send a consolidated list to a single supplier capable of handling multi-category procurement. At Gencom, we regularly handle complete office setups in Dar es Salaam and across Tanzania — from a single Excel file, a single quote, a single PO, and one coordinated delivery.
Ready to set up your new office?
Send us your office equipment list — or use this checklist as a starting point. We will come back with an itemised quotation within one business day.
