Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the main activities of the DFRC?
   The DFRC was established with the purpose of serving SADC Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to become more efficient delivery agents. It is seen as a vehicle for supporting, amongst other things:
   • The capacity-building needs of national DFIs to strengthen them and enable them to play a meaningful development financing role at the national level and in the region;
   • Supporting sub-regional cooperation and the achievement of regional integration through, inter alia, the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP);
   • Policy research and analysis to support DFI interactions with SADC governments on issues of resource allocation, regional and international resource mobilization and sub-regional project and investment development;
   • Advisory services to SADC governments and to DFIs; and
   • Providing a central hub for information technology and DFI information systems.
   The DFRC is, therefore, a critical institution for supporting the development of the financial sector and regional development.
   
2. What is the mandate of the DFRC?
   The SADC-DFRC is an autonomous SADC institution established under the SADC principle of subsidiarity. It is collectively ‘owned’ by the SADC-DFIs Network as its ‘self-help’ organization. Only the twenty three members of the SADC DFIs Sub-committee that have signed the Memorandum of Understanding of May 2000 are members of the Network.
   
   Through technical and capacity building support, as well as policy research and advisory services, the DFRC’s mandate is to promote the effective mobilization of resources by the financial sector, in particular the DFIs, for investment in key areas with the potential to stimulate growth, generate employment and alleviate poverty, in line with the objectives of SADC under the RISDP.
   
3. What is the strategy of the DFRC?
   The DFRC is a lean organization manned by a small highly qualified group of staff. Cognizant of this and to achieve its mandate, it has adopted a collaborative approach which involves utilization of strategic partners in all its areas of strategic focus. The DFRC, thus, will primarily operate as facilitator, coordinator and catalyst to the DFI Network and regional governments.
   
   The DFRC has identified the following areas as focal sectors:
   • Financial sector reforms and strengthening and capital markets development;
   • Institutional support, encompassing capacity building;
   • SME Development and support; and
   • Infrastructure/ PPP delivery.
   These areas were selected due to their centrality in the achievement of the regional goals of economic growth, employment creation and poverty eradication as espoused under the SADC common agenda, NEPAD and the African Union (AU).
   
4. What are the objectives of the DFRC?
   These encampus the following:
• Dealing with non-performing assets of national DFIs;
• Increasing the financial autonomy and independence of national DFIs;
• Encourage cross-border strategic alliances and operational partnerships for the efficient and optimal use of development finance for projects at both the national and the regional level;
• Help to corporatise and privatize financially sound DFIs; and
• Encourage DFIs to take cross-shareholdings in each other.
  
5. Who are the DFRC members?
   

   BOTSWANA	LESOTHO
   • Botswana Development Corporation • National Development Bank • Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency	• Lesotho National Development Corporation • Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation
   MALAWI	MAURITIUS
   • Malawi Development Corporation	• Development Bank of Mauritius
   NAMIBIA	SOUTH AFRICA
   • Agricultural Bank of Namibia • Development Bank of Namibia • National Housing Enterprise	• Development Bank of Southern Africa • Industrial Development Corporation • Land and Agricultural Bank
   SWAZILAND	TANZANIA
   • Swaziland Development and Savings Bank • Swaziland Development Finance Corporation • Swaziland Industrial Development Company	• National Development Corporation • Small Industries Development Organization • Tanzania Investment Bank
   ZAMBIA	ZIMBABWE
   • Development Bank of Zambia	• Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe • Industrial Development Corporation • Small Enterprises Development Corporation • Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe

   
6. How do the DFRC and the DFI Network fit into the SADC Structures?
   The SADC Committee of Ministers responsible for Finance & Investment (COMFI) is a permanent committee of the SADC Integrated Committee of Ministers (ICM) which reports through to the SADC Council of Ministers. Figure 1 below sets out this relationship diagrammatically. COMFI is supported by the Committee of Senior Treasury Officials and the Committee of Central Bank Governors. The DFI Subcommittee is comprised of all national DFIs in SADC member countries, is a subcommittee of the Senior Treasury Officials, and reports through them to COMFI.
   
   The DFIs, through the DFRC, enjoy a functional relationship with the SADC Secretariat. Their main interface is through the Directorate for Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI). However, strong operational links are being developed with the Infrastructure & Services and Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources Directorates (FANR).
   
   
7. What is the DFRC’s relevance to SADC, NEPAD and African Union Strategies?
   Development finance and DFIs will continue to play an important role in the SADC region for the foreseeable future. DFIs are especially important players for the provision of long-term capital for development projects (especially for infrastructure), for stimulating industrial development and value-adding, promoting entrepreneurship and private sector development, trade finance, capital markets development through facilitating privatization of state-owned assets (e.g. in power, telecommunications, water supply, transport and mining), technological advancement, financing of agricultural development, microfinance and gender credit and support.
   
   These intervention areas are critical for the successful achievement of regional integration and co-operation in SADC, and have been highlighted in the SADC RISDP as critical development focal areas. SADC has recognized the importance of the role of DFIs for financing aspects of the RISDP and its chapter on financing of the RISDP alludes to the importance of the Network’s financing activities in achieving successful implementation of the Plan.
   
   As a critical strategy of the African Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative also recognizes the important financing role of DFIs in the African continent and the need to work through existing institutions like the Network and its members to achieve Africa’s development challenges. Like SADC,
   NEPAD also focuses attention on capacity building and policy analysis and support as a critical development driver. The DFRC will provide support for this focus and is working closely with the NEPAD Secretariat to build capacities and develop strategies to strengthen the financial sector. The AU’s constitutive instruments identify the critical role of regional organizations and of development finance in harnessing Africa’s potential. It targets capacity building, as one of the critical areas for achieving much needed economic growth and development. The AU’s goals are, therefore, supportive of and have much in common with those of SADC, and have been embraced by SADC DFIs and their DFRC.
   
8. How does the DFRC support the DFI members?
   The DFRC is ‘owned’ collectively by the DFIs in SADC as an ‘industry-owned’ self-help organization. It provides the vehicle for supporting advisory and capacity building services to the Network and the finance sector. The DFRC is expected to facilitate, through the Network, the emergence of a new ‘internal market forces dynamic’ aimed at addressing regional development financing needs. By being pro-active, the DFRC acting on behalf of all its members is expected to nudge the region’s development financing capacity, knowledge and skills base gradually towards the cutting edge of financial services delivery.
   
   As the centre of the SADC-DFI Network, the DFRC will attract financial, technical, advisory and resource person assistance and support from the donor community as well as from private financial institutions.
   
9. Who are the DFRC stakeholders?
   DFRC Stakeholders encampus regional and national research organization, universities, financial institutions, donor organizations etc. These include the following:
• SADC Secretariat
• SADC Committee of Senior Treasury Officials
• SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors (CCBG)
• SADC Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non - banking financial Authorities (CISNA)
• Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADIF)
• African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
• New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Secretariat
• International Cooperating Partners, including
  • The Centre for Development of Enterprises (CDE)
  • The African Development Bank (AfDB)
  • World Bank Group including the following institutions and agencies of the Bank: IFC, PPIAF, WBI, and MIGA.
  • UNCTAD
  • UNIDO
• African Union (AU)
  
10. Does the DFRC offer loans
    No, the DFRC does not offer loans. It is not a financial institution but a vehicle for supporting SADC Development Finance Institutions through facilitating policy research, advisory and capacity building services.
    
11. Who can I contact for more information?
    SADC-DFRC
    P. Bag 0034 Gaborone, Botswana
    Tel: (+267) 319 1146
    Fax: (+267) 319 1147
    Email: info@sadc-dfrc.org
    
12. Where can I find the SADC-DFRC offices?
    Plot 50676, First Floor,
    Block B
    BIFM/Fairgrounds Office Park
    Gaborone, Botswana

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