Electricity and Control June 2022

WRITE @ THE BACK

Manufacturing Indaba returns as a live event

M anufacturing Indaba will this year return to an in-person platform. It will take place on 21 and 22 June 2022 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. After the virtual events of the past two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 9th edition of the conference and exhibition will be hosted as a physical event. Reigniting economic growth The pandemic has impacted negatively on industry broadly, on value chains, trade, labour markets, foreign direct investment, and remittance flows. It has hindered the economy’s ability to increase real incomes over the long term, imposing a heavy debt burden. As the health crisis subsides, yet remains with us, economic recovery has become a priority, and inclusive and sustainable industrialisation is fundamental to building a better future. Manufacturing plays an unequalled role in driving economic development. This is evident in how industrial growth builds the overall GDP and productivity of a nation. A rise in manufacturing output promotes further production in the manufacturing sector as well as in other sectors through direct production linkages and indirect multiplier effects, driving the growth of the economy as a whole. A resilient manufacturing sector paves the way for a nation to provide a decent standard of living for its citizens and is recognised as a key accelerator for Africa’s robust and inclusive growth. Further, manufacturing provides multifaceted productive advantages. First, mass production introduces economies of scale: the more units produced, the lower the per-unit cost, and the higher the value of outputs per input. Second, manufacturing tends to have strong links to other economic sectors, creating demand for skills, inputs, manufacturing

components, transportation, and storage. Reigniting manu facturing boosts a restart across a wider range of activities, including those in the services sector. Third, many innova tions and technological advances originate in manufac turing, and spill over into other industries, enhancing their levels of productivity. Significant shifts in the structure of global production present industry in South Africa and Africa the opportunity to capitalise on the continent’s resources and potential in implementing domestic manufacturing and a commodity based industrialisation process. This provides substantial scope for job creation and the promotion of inclusive economic transformation. Industrialisation will entail adding value to domestic products, soft and hard commodities and developing forward and backward linkages to regional and international value chains. It remains essential to develop and expand SMEs, industry clusters and private-public partnerships, to leverage financing for the industrialisation process. In addition, implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will develop regional value chains and accelerate productive transformation. Governments and organisations need to harness digital innovations to reduce production costs and create policies for skills development, public procurement, and foreign investment to reinforce industrial development. Manufacturing Indaba 2022 offers attendees the chance to identify significant players, financiers, influencers, and leaders, and to gather insights into new solutions and business models, as well as access to new markets, new clients, and the opportunity to grow prosperous manufacturing businesses that can contribute to the nation’s and the continent’s economic growth. Manufacturing Indaba 2022 will be hosted as an in-person event at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Reigniting manufacturing will boost a restart across a wider range of activities via supply and services links.

For more information visit: www.manufacturingindaba.co.za

32 Electricity + Control JUNE 2022