SADC–IISD Investment Facilitation Workshop

This report documents a workshop held in August 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by the SADC Secretariat and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The meeting focused on defining and implementing 'facilitating investment for sustainable development' for SADC member states, distinguishing this approach from traditional investment facilitation and trade facilitation.

• The workshop established a critical distinction between trade facilitation and investment facilitation. While trade facilitation is a narrow process focused on the "simplification, modernization and harmonization of export and import processes" to move goods across borders, investment facilitation is broader and involves long-term operations including the "admission, establishment and acquisition" of cross-border investment.
• Participants argued that traditional investment facilitation models, such as those from the OECD, focused primarily on the investor's environment and ignored development impacts. They advocated for a shift toward "facilitating investment for sustainable development," which incorporates host state needs such as "environmental protection, local economic development, social development needs, employment and skills training, respect for human rights, climate change adaptation and mitigation".
• SADC member states identified several high-priority actions for their investment environment, most notably providing "consolidated and easily accessible information about making investments", "Minimizing corruption risks in investment", and enhancing support for local entrepreneurship, specifically including "small and medium-sized enterprises and women entrepreneurship" as well as youth.
• The workshop participants rejected the implementation of new legally binding international or regional regulatory measures for investment facilitation. Instead, they concluded that facilitation should occur primarily within "national institutional and regulatory frameworks" and that international roles should be limited to "capacity building, information sharing and cooperative processes".
• A review of UNCTAD's Global Action Menu for Investment Facilitation led participants to identify several missing elements. These include the need for "Screening guidelines to track the source of funds", measures to address "money laundering, drug trafficking and tax evasion", and the inclusion of "environmentally friendly investment".
• At the SADC regional level, the proposed work plan focuses on four main areas: information sharing, intra-regional cooperation, strengthening SADC institutions, and capacity building. Specific regional goals include developing "regional best practices and standards" for responsible corporate behavior and providing technical assistance to "evaluate and asses investment proposals".
• Participants suggested that SADC regional institutions could be strengthened by the "Possible reintroduction of the role of the SADC court" to ensure consistent application of regulations and avoid "discriminatory use of bureaucratic discretion".

APA

Brauch, M. D., Mann, H., & Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. (2019). SADC–IISD Investment Facilitation Workshop. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sadc-iisd-investment-facilitation-workshop.pdf

Chicago

Brauch, Martin Dietrich, Howard Mann, and Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder. SADC–IISD Investment Facilitation Workshop. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sadc-iisd-investment-facilitation-workshop.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brauch |first1=Martin Dietrich |last2=Mann |first2=Howard |last3=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first3=Nathalie |title=SADC–IISD Investment Facilitation Workshop |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=January 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sadc-iisd-investment-facilitation-workshop.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brauch2019sadciisd, author = {Brauch, Martin Dietrich and Mann, Howard and Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie}, title = {{SADC–IISD Investment Facilitation Workshop}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sadc-iisd-investment-facilitation-workshop.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }