Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called on member states to adopt diversified and innovative approaches to strengthening small and medium enterprises (SMEs), describing them as the backbone of the region’s industrialisation drive and key drivers of regional integration and shared prosperity.
Speaking during the recent SADC High-Level Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Public-Private Dialogue Forum held in South Africa, SADC Deputy Executive Secretary responsible for regional integration, Ms Angèle Makombo N’tumba, said the regional bloc had placed SMEs at the centre of its industrialisation agenda.
In support of this objective, she said, SADC had developed the SME Development and Competitiveness Strategy (2025-2029), a comprehensive framework designed to unlock the sector’s full potential.
The strategy provides a coherent and harmonised regional approach aimed at boosting SME productivity, deepening their integration into regional and global value chains and enhancing their contribution to industrial development, job creation and inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
“The Southern African Development Community places the development of Small and Medium Enterprises at the centre of its regional integration and economic transformation agenda,” said a communique released by the SADC Secretariat.
Across the region, SMEs constitute the majority of businesses and play a pivotal role not only as engines of economic growth, but also as critical pathways for employment creation, innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusive development.
The high-level forum was convened primarily to promote and operationalise the SADC SME Development and Competitiveness Strategy.
“It provided a practical platform for translating policy commitments into tangible outcomes through experience-sharing, collaborative problem-solving, consensus-building, the dissemination of best practices and the identification of priority national and regional interventions in support of the strategy,” said SADC.
Chairperson of the SADC High-Level SMEs Forum and acting chief director for South Africa’s Department of Small Business Development Mr Mzwanele Memani commended member states for ongoing efforts to strengthen SME support frameworks and acknowledged the indispensable role of development partners.
He called for intensified technical assistance, improved access to finance and stronger policy advocacy to reinforce SME ecosystems across the region.
“He emphasised that enhancing SME competitiveness is essential to accelerating enterprise growth and expanding participation in regional markets,” said the SADC Secretariat.
SADC Business Council chairperson Mr Khulekani Mathe outlined the sector’s significant contribution to the regional economy.
He said SMEs contribute more than 50 percent of regional gross domestic product (GDP), account for nearly 80 percent of employment and represent approximately 90 percent of registered businesses across SADC member states.
“He underscored that SMEs are the primary source of employment, particularly for youth and women,” said the Secretariat.
However, despite their economic importance, Mr Mathe noted that SME participation in intra-regional trade and regional value chains remains disproportionately low.
He highlighted several examples from selected SADC member states that could be scaled up across the region, including targeted support for SMEs integration into regional textile, agro-processing and services value chains, policy harmonisation initiatives and improved access to standards and quality infrastructure.
According to the SADC Secretariat, forum participants deliberated on key strategic priorities to accelerate implementation of the SME Development and Competitiveness Strategy.
These priorities included solution-oriented financing mechanisms, market integration, standards and quality infrastructure, skills development, innovation and digitalisation, as well as opportunities for SMEs arising from the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“The Forum formed part of SADC’s ongoing efforts to fast-track implementation of the strategy by unpacking practical interventions aligned to its five strategic pillars: policy and regulatory reform; entrepreneurship and skills development; technology and infrastructure; market access; and access to finance,” said the Secretariat.
The event brought together a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including officials from SADC member states, the SADC Business Council, representatives of the African Union Commission and the African Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, regional and international cooperating and development partners, SME support institutions and business associations, policymakers, private sector representatives, financial institutions and SME experts.
