Corporate Profile

Mandate

The Southern African Development Community - Development Finance Resource Centre (SADC-DFRC) is a subsidiary institution of SADC established under the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment (FIP). It is collectively ‘owned’ by the SADC Development Finance Institutions (DFI) Network, also an FIP organisation, with a current membership of forty-one (41) national DFIs. Through technical and capacity building support, as well as policy research, advocacy and advisory services, the DFRC’s mandate is to promote the effective mobilisation of resources by the financial sector, in particular the DFIs, for investment in key areas with the potential to stimulate sustainable and inclusive growth, generate employment and alleviate poverty, in line with the objectives of SADC under the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020 - 2030.

Focal Areas

The Strategic Plan of the DFRC (2024-29) identifies the following key activity areas and sectors:

Capacity Building

  • Training/Skills development
  • Support to Industrial, including Small, Medium and Micro - sized Enterprise (SMME) Programmes
  • Support to Infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Programmes
  • Other Human Resource Development Services

Policy Research and Advisory Services

  • Policy, Regulatory and Supervisory Environment for DFIs
  • Support Financial Inclusion
  • Enabling Environment for SMME, Industrial and Infrastructure Development
  • Advisory Services, Research and Advocacy on development finance

Sectoral Focus

  • Small and Medium and Miro - sized Enterprise Development
  • Industrial Development
  • Infrastructure Development
  • Public Private Partnerships
  • Agriculture development

Working Approach

The DFRC is a lean organisation manned by a small group of professional staff in key strategic areas in line with its mandate. To effectively deliver on the mandate, therefore, the DFRC has adopted a collaborative approach which involves utilisation of strategic development and technical partners in the selected focal areas. In this regard, the DFRC operates as facilitator and catalyst to DFIs, SADC Member States Governments, State – Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and other key development stakeholders.

Financing of Activities

The DFI Network members finance the administrative budget of the DFRC through annual contributions while programme activities are funded through a cost recovery approach coupled with funding from international cooperating partners (ICPs) or donor sources. Technical and strategic partnerships are also leveraged on to support programme activities.