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The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) will host a seminar on its Rural and Township Industrial Economic Development Programme at the Velmore Conference Centre in Centurion on Wednesday, 14 March 2018. Participants will include business and industry, relevant experts, government officials and stakeholders from the community.

According to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, the seminar will serve as a platform to deliberate on topical issues that impact on the rural and township economy.

“Township and rural economies are struggling, especially from an industrialisation perspective due to a number of factors, which include limited logistics, infrastructure and investment, as well as instilling values that support sustainable development and socio-economic transformation of the country,” says Davies.

“The seminar seeks to put in the spotlight opportunities presented by these economies, as well as challenges that have to be overcome, with the objective of creating a platform for collaboration between the public and private sector in developing support mechanisms for the rural and townships economy,” he adds.

The seminar will bring together intellectuals, specialists, academia, as well as the public and private sector individuals who have been involved in various initiatives pertinent to the development of rural and township industrial economies.

“We expect that the discussions and ideas from the seminar will assist us a great deal in enriching the department’s Rural and Township Industrial Economic Development Programme which we are in the process of developing. This will be our flag-ship programme characterised by a drive to broaden economic participation in the lagging regions specifically targeting the rural and township economies,” says Davies.

Topics that will be discussed at the seminar include rural and township viable business models, role of the private sector in enabling the rural and township economy, innovation-led interventions for the rural and township economy, alternate financial interventions for the rural and township economy, as well as the social and economic infrastructure.


Issued by The Department of Trade and Industry