The NEPAD Business Foundation welcomes the recent launch of the Free Trade Areas (FTAs) at the 28th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit hosted in Johannesburg in August 2008. The purpose of the Free Trade Area will be to accelerate economic growth in a region comprising 247 million people with an existing $430 billion economy – this means that the SADC market will now be a formidable trading bloc for international investors. The upward growth curve as a result of the FTAs will result in reducing poverty for millions of people as well as providing basic services to the communities in this economic hub.

The benefits of regional integration across the African continent will result in enhanced and expanded trade opportunities for Africa, which will escalate industrialisation of the SADC region. President Thabo Mbeki, who is the new SADC chairperson, addressed the delegates at the official launch and said that the FTAs are a milestone for the region. He further commented, "Today we can say with pride that our collective efforts have borne fruits, and that we have successfully met the objective we set ourselves. Indeed it required hard work, dedication, resolve and an unswerving commitment to mobilise our limited resources so as to meet our objective."

Eleven of the 14 countries that are part of SADC will participate in the FTAs, which includes Zimbabwe, which recorded an inflation rate of 2.2 million percent, as well as South Africa, the continent’s economic powerhouse. The FTAs aim to eliminate import tariffs with plans for a customs union by 2010, a common market by 2015, monetary union by 2016 and a single currency by 2018. This agreement will enhance the SADC region and encourage trade and investment flow into SADC.

Recognised and initiated by Dr Reuel Khoza as a result of a special request by President Mbeki, the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF), plays a key role as part of his vision for the future of regional economic integration. The NBF is well placed with formal recognition by the South African Government to be a key facilitator in mobilising the private sector to actively participate in the regional economic hubs. Added to this process is the recently launched NEPAD SADC Business Hub at the Africa World Economic Forum, to address many issues surrounding access to trade for the SADC countries.

Lynette Chen, CEO of the NEPAD Business Foundation, said "This is the opportunity for private sector to become actively involved in regional trading platforms, in particular by supporting the translation of the SADC Corridor Strategy into reality. The SADC Corridor Strategy recently adopted by the Ministers of Transports in Windhoek, Namibia represents a coherent, integrated and comprehensive approach to regional integration. The NBF strongly believes that the SADC Corridor Strategy will serve as the vehicle for the successful implementation and delivery FTA objectives by encouraging the development of regional infrastructure networks and facilitating the establishment of cross-border hubs in banking, finance, logistics, mining, manufacturing, services, retail, trade etc. Further, the establishment of One Stop Border Posts (OSBP), also discussed at the recently held NEPAD/SADC Regional Infrastructure Projects Conference, provides additional avenues for private sector participation which could impact positively on the FTA. In this regard, the NBF will engage more pro-actively in the establishment of OSBP by mobilizing private sector to put forward innovative solutions to facilitate seamless movement of people and goods across the region. In this context, the focus on development corridors is a step in the right direction and represents an opportunity for effective private sector participation in the implementation of the FTAs. Ms Chen concluded that "with the launch of the FTA and the successful delivery of the NEPAD/SADC Regional Infrastructure Projects Conference, which focussed on two development corridors, the NBF is now gearing itself to move from intention to practical action".