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The decision of the 34 SADC Summit in 2014 to
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place industrial development at the core of the developmental
integration agenda of SADC was in realisation of the fact
that industrial development is central to diversification of
economies in the region as well as the creation of employment
to reduce poverty. The overall goal of this intervention area
is to facilitate diversified industrial development, trade and fi-
nancial liberalisation and integration, macroeconomic stabil-
ity and convergence, as well as increased investment for
deeper regional integration and poverty eradication.
The drive towards industrialisation has been a top pri-
ority for SADC in recent years because most countries in
the region get very little from their vast natural resources
such as gold and diamonds since most of the value-addition
and beneficiation takes place outside the region, and bene-
fits others. In this regard, the consensus within SADC is
that before the region can liberalise trade, SADC should
first have something to trade, hence the need to focus on
value addition and beneficiation.

Industrial Development
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Major achievements are the adoption of the
Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap, the
Costed Action Plan, and other milestones shown below.

Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap
SADC Member States acknowledged that industrial development is central to diversification
of their economies; development of productive capacity; and the creation of employment
in order to reduce poverty and set their economies on a more sustainable growth path.
The SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063 approved in 2015,
was developed as an inclusive long-term modernisation and economic transformation
scheme that enables substantive and sustained raising of living standards. The strategy is
anchored in three independent and mutually supportive strategic pillars wherein “Indus-
trialisation” is emphasised as a champion of economic transformation, enhancing com-
petitiveness, and deeper regional integration.
The timeframe of 2015 to 2063 is a deliberate policy decision to align it with the
African Union Agenda 2063. Phase I aligns with the RISDP 2015-2020 and constitutes
a period of active frontloading of the Industrial Development and Market Integration
component of the RISDP and related infrastructure and services support to industrial-
isation. Through the Protocol on Industry, and the Strategy and Roadmap, SADC seeks
to intensify structural change and hasten the industrial transition of SADC Member
States to the levels of developed industrialised countries.

Costed Action Plan for Industrialisation
To ensure an efficient implementation of the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap,
SADC adopted a Costed Action Plan. This seeks to establish a coherent and synergistic
implementation scheme containing strategic options and general policies towards the pro-
gressive achievement of the time-bound targets set out in the strategy and roadmap. The
plan focuses on the first 15 years of the strategy and roadmap, and aims to create an en-
abling environment for sustaining industrial development as a driver of economic trans-
formation; and establish an enduring alliance for industrialisation consisting of the public
and private sectors as well as strategic partners.