Top 10 Business Constraints in SADC

This report, produced by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in collaboration with the SADC Secretariat and GIZ, identifies the primary business and investment constraints within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. By analyzing multiple business climate surveys, indices, and the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the study establishes a list of the top ten barriers to investment and development to facilitate public-private dialogue and the creation of practical policy solutions.

• The SADC region generally performs poorly in the World Bank's 2012 Ease of Doing Business Rankings, with an average rank of 114th, representing a one percentage point decline from 2011. Within the 15 SADC countries, Mauritius is the highest ranked at 23rd, while the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the lowest at 178th.
• The primary obstacles to attracting and sustaining new business investment in the region are an unfavourable investment climate and a lack of predictability and stability in macroeconomic policy.
• The study identified ten most significant barriers to investment and development in SADC, which include access and cost of finance, tax rates and administration, access to skilled labour, economic and regulatory policy uncertainty, exchange rate fluctuations and foreign currency regulations, customs regulations and bureaucracy, infrastructure supply (transport, telecommunications, IT, and energy), corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, and non-tariff trade barriers.
• Analysis of the World Bank Enterprise Survey highlighted electricity, access to finance, and practices of competitors in the informal sector as the most important obstacles cited by the highest number of respondents.
• A 2011 Ernst & Young 'Africa attractiveness survey' of 170 respondents identified top obstacles for SADC countries including an unstable political environment, corruption, weak security, poor transport and logistics infrastructure, and a lack of entrepreneurial culture.
• The research project aims to move beyond generic survey data by conducting firm-level case studies to make business constraints more tangible for decision-makers and to facilitate policy dialogue between the public and private sectors.

APA

Makokera, C. G., Chapman, G., & Wentworth, L. (2012). Top 10 Business Constraints in SADC. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Top_10_Business_constraints_in_SADC.pdf

Chicago

Makokera, Catherine Grant, Geoffrey Chapman, and Lesley Wentworth. Top 10 Business Constraints in SADC. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2012. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Top_10_Business_constraints_in_SADC.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Makokera |first1=Catherine Grant |last2=Chapman |first2=Geoffrey |last3=Wentworth |first3=Lesley |title=Top 10 Business Constraints in SADC |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2012 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Top_10_Business_constraints_in_SADC.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{makokera2012top, author = {Makokera, Catherine Grant and Chapman, Geoffrey and Wentworth, Lesley}, title = {{Top 10 Business Constraints in SADC}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Top_10_Business_constraints_in_SADC.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }