Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main activities of the DFRC?

The DFRC was established with the purpose of serving SADC Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to become more efficient delivery agents. It is seen as a vehicle for supporting, amongst other things:

  • The capacity-building needs of national DFIs to strengthen them and enable them to play a meaningful development financing role at the national level and in the region;
  • Supporting sub-regional cooperation and the achievement of regional integration through, inter alia, the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP);
  • Policy research and analysis to support DFI interactions with SADC governments on issues of resource allocation, regional and international resource mobilization and sub-regional project and investment development;
  • Advisory services to SADC governments and to DFIs; and
  • Providing a central hub for information technology and DFI information systems.

 

The DFRC is, therefore, a critical institution for supporting the development of the financial sector and regional development.

 

What is the mandate of the DFRC?

The SADC-DFRC is an autonomous SADC institution established under the SADC principle of subsidiarity. It is collectively ‘owned’ by the SADC-DFIs Network as its ‘self-help’ organization. Only the twenty three members of the SADC DFIs Sub-committee that have signed the Memorandum of Understanding of May 2000 are members of the Network.

 

Through technical and capacity building support, as well as policy research and advisory services, the DFRC’s mandate is to promote the effective mobilization of resources by the financial sector, in particular the DFIs, for investment in key areas with the potential to stimulate growth, generate employment and alleviate poverty, in line with the objectives of SADC under the RISDP.

 

What is the strategy of the DFRC?

The DFRC is a lean organization manned by a small highly qualified group of staff. Cognizant of this and to achieve its mandate, it has adopted a collaborative approach which involves utilization of strategic partners in all its areas of strategic focus. The DFRC, thus, will primarily operate as facilitator, coordinator and catalyst to the DFI Network and regional governments.

 

The DFRC has identified the following areas as focal sectors:

  • Financial sector reforms and strengthening and capital markets development;
  • Institutional support, encompassing capacity building;
  • SME Development and support; and
  • Infrastructure/ PPP delivery.

 

These areas were selected due to their centrality in the achievement of the regional goals of economic growth, employment creation and poverty eradication as espoused under the SADC common agenda, NEPAD and the African Union (AU).

 

What are the objectives of the DFRC?

These encampus the following:

Dealing with non-performing assets of national DFIs;

Increasing the financial autonomy and independence of national DFIs;

  • Encourage cross-border strategic alliances and operational partnerships for the efficient and optimal use of development finance for projects at both the national and the regional level;
  • Help to corporatise and privatize financially sound DFIs; and
  • Encourage DFIs to take cross-shareholdings in each other.

 

 

Who are the DFRC members?

BotswanaLesotho
  • Botswana Development Corporation

  • National Development Bank

  • Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency

  • Lesotho National Development Corporation
  • Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation
 
MalawiMauritius
  • Malawi Development Corporation
  • Development Bank of Mauritius
NamibiaSouth Africa
  • Agricultural Bank of Namibia
  • Development Bank of Namibia
  • National Housing Enterprise
  • Development Bank of Southern Africa
  • Industrial Development Corporation
  • Land and Agricultural Bank
SwazilandTanzania
  • Swaziland Development and Savings Bank
  • Swaziland Development Finance Corporation
  • Swaziland Industrial Development Company
  • National Development Corporation
  • Small Industries Development Organization
  • Tanzania Investment Bank
TanzaniaZimbabwe