Industrialising the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Economies: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

This article examines the prospects and challenges of industrialisation as a tool for economic development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The economic importance of industrialisation is enshrined in its capacity to create job opportunities and facilitate synergies between and among various sectors of the economy. The paper posits that industrialisation is an engine for economic development that can promote sustainable positive social change in any given society. While the perceived view is that, in general, the industrialisation process in Africa has been disappointing; the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has committed itself towards embracing the concept of industrialisation as a tool for economic growth and development. Thus, given the historical failure of this concept on the African continent, it is important to analyse the prospects and challenges likely to be faced by the SADC region in their bid to hasten the industrialisation of their countries. Substantively, the paper relied on documentary research.