SADC Development Finance Institutions Network on 8th- 10th June, convened in Gaborone, Botswana for their biennial meetings organized by SADC DFRC (Development Finance Resource Centre). The SADC DFI Network was established in May 2000, following a recommendation by the SADC Development Finance Study of 1998 (DFS98) to develop a Network for Development Finance Institutions in Southern Africa. The Network has a membership of 36 national DFIs from 14 SADC countries. Botswana members include NDB, BDC, BITC, LEA, BSB, Norsad Finance, BHC, and CEDA.

In August 2002, the Network agreed to establish the DFRC under a Trust Deed to finance its recurrent administrative expenditure from start-up, then approach Donor Agencies for other infrastructure, technical and capacity building needs. The DFRC was then established in July 2003 under the SADC principle of subsidiarity, following the decision of the SADC Council of Ministers meeting of Angola in October 2002.

As the institutional hub of the Network, the DFRC is mandated to render critical support to the DFI Network as facilitator and catalyst to improve the operational efficiency of its members. DFRC was established among other things to facilitate and coordinate cooperation among the DFIs, pool resources and mobilise funds from within the region and from global capital markets for SADC development projects, collaborate on cross-border and in country financing of projects; share experiences and develop common best practices; strengthen and build creditworthiness of members; and capacity building. The DFRC in its new Five Year Strategic Plan for 2015 to 2019 has aligned its areas of focus to industrial and infrastructure development.

At the official opening of the newly acquired SADC DFRC office at Zambezi towers, CBD, Gaborone on 8th June 2016, Chief Executive Officer of the SADC DFRC, Mr Stuart Kufeni highlighted that the DFRC has over the past 13 years grown from strength to strength and now boasts a strong core team of professionals and support staff. To date, with more than 150 training courses, policy fora and workshops and hundreds of beneficiaries, the DFRC has become established as a brand on development finance issues within the SADC region and beyond. The official opening of the new offices was followed by SADC DFRC Chief Executive Officers Forum and a Cultural Evening hosted by local DFIs on 9th June 2016. The activities ended with SADC DFIs Subcommittee Meeting on 10th June 2016.

At the cultural event which sparkled with Tswana traditional décor, attire, song and dance, NDB CEO, Mrs. Lorato C. Morapedi welcomed the SADC DFI delegates and used the opportunity to highlight Botswana’s economic achievements as well as the country’s fifty years of independence commemoration. Morapedi expressed that the Network has influenced institutional and policy challenges across the SADC region, especially those pertaining to the DFIs. She further noted that acquisition of an office by the DFRC is an advancement worth celebrating as it signifies that the Network is growing and stable. In patronage of the cultural event, NDB team came to work on their traditional attire.