This scoping study aimed to support the SADC Industrialisation and Women’s Economic Empowerment (IWEE) initiative in identifying opportunities for, and impediments to, the participation of women-owned and women-led enterprises in key regional value chains (agriprocessing; mineral beneficiation; pharmaceuticals, leather; textile & clothing; tourism; and services) in the SADC region.

Through regional market systems assessment and consultations with MSMEs, business support organisations, and development partners, Imani Development mapped high potential areas for women’s participation, and developed recommendations and action plans for IWEE and other SADC units and programmes to mobilise resources and support in member states and target sectors.

Key Activities conducted by Imani Development:

1. Value chain selection

  • Emphasis on emerging/existing regional value chains in line with 7 priority sectors set out by SADC Vision 2050 & RISDP 2020-2030.
  • Priority sectors included: Agri-processing; mineral beneficiation; pharmaceuticals; leather; textile & clothing; tourism; and services.

2. Stock take of existing support initiatives

Identification of relevant policies, strategies & other initiatives within the SADC value chain support ecosystem, including those that directly supported women owned enterprises.

3. Consultations

  • Sourced inputs directly from relevant internal and external stakeholders.
  • Sourced practical insights on possible opportunities within priority value chains, identifying immediately actionable opportunities.

4. Interviews

Interviews were conducted with (i) technical advisors for each priority value chain; ii) technical advisors and programme managers at programme-level for SIPS, SIBE, TFP etc; iii) technical leads at the women’s enterprise support initiatives (SADC gender unit, IWEE etc.); iv) online focus group discussions with regional representative groups for women owned/led enterprises and v) other stakeholders such as donors or think tanks that focused on supporting women’s enterprise integration into VC’s.

5. Scoring Assessments

To evaluate priority opportunities by evaluating feasibility against criteria like income potential, policy linkages, and regional cooperation.

6. Action plan

Provided IWEE & SADC with practical steps to mobilise support and exploit feasible options in the short-medium term while linking opportunities directly to relevant policy instruments.