A review of promotional institutions for small industries in Southern Africa

01.09.1990
With the exception of Angola, and newly created Namibia, all independent states in Southern Africa have programmes to support small industries. Such programmes and the institutions supporting them came into existence in: Tanzania 1973, Botswana 1974, Swaziland 1974, Lesotho 1975, Malawi 1982, Zambia and Zimbabwe 1983, and Mozambique 1988. These organizations are generally parastatals dependent on government financing and policy guidance. UN agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have played key roles in the different countries in helping to establish these promotional institutions.The institutions have generally been organized on the Indian model which was considered successful after 20 years of operation. UNIDO considered the Indian experience relevant to African and Asian countries. Later on, through bilateral aid programmes, the promotional institutions received the support of donor agencies in various forms, but generally governments have failed to adequately finance these institutions and so they have proved incapable of fulfilling their planning and promotional objectives for small industries.