The Southern African Development Community - Development Finance Resource Centre (SADC-DFRC) is a subsidiary institution of SADC established under the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment (the FIP). The SADC Development Finance Resource Centre, is a subsidiary institution of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and serves as secretariat of the SADC Development Finance Institutions Network among other functions. The SADC-DFRC is mandated to provide technical and capacity building support, policy research and advisory services to promote effective mobilisation of resources in the financial sector in particular 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 Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP). The SADC DFI Network membership currently stands at thirty two (32), with seven (7) local members, being the Botswana Development Corporation, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency, Botswana Housing Corporation, Botswana Savings Bank, BotswanaInvestment and Trade Centre, Local Enterprise Authority and the National Development Bank. The courses cover various skills requirements, and include areas such as: Economic and Financial Investment Appraisal and Risk Analysis; Corporate Governance Practice and Policy; Management Development Programmes to mention a few. In pursuance of its developmental role, the SADC-DFRC has developed strong relationships with the SADC Governments and International Cooperating Partners such as the World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB), German Development Agency (GIZ), European Union (EU), Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). This has resulted in the DFRC accessing financial and technical support for programmes that have benefited various development stakeholders but principally the DFIs, Member State Governments and State-owned Enterprises (SOEs). The DFRC also successfully established the SADC Public Private Partnership Network in 2011 which has to date conducted various PPP skills development programmes for SADC Governments in addition to promoting public-private dialogue. It has recently also developed the SADC PPP Policy Framework which was adopted by Ministers of Finance and Investment at their recent meeting in Maputo this year. On the advisory services front, the DFRC has assisted DFIs in restructuring their operations and has also conducted studies and workshops towards improving the policy and regulatory environment for development finance in member countries and the region as a whole. The DFRC has also rendered technical advice and actively participated in the discussions on the establishment of the SADC Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF) SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) whose establishment is now at an advanced stage.
