The longstanding manufacturing conference and exhibition will be returning to the physical event realm after adopting an exclusively virtual approach over the past two years of the pandemic.
THE 9th staging of the Manufacturing Indaba conference and exhibition will be returning as a face to face event after adopting an exclusively virtual approach over the past two years. The 2022 edition is to be hosted from the 21 – 22 June 2022 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
Reigniting economic growth through manufacturing
Manufacturing plays an unequalled role in driving economic development, affecting the overall GDP and productivity of a nation. A rise in manufacturing output induces production in the manufacturing sector as well as in other sectors through direct production linkages and indirect multiplier effects, hence driving the growth of the economy in its entirety.
Further, manufacturing provides multifaceted productive advantages. First, mass production implies economies of scale: The more units produced, the lower the per-unit cost, and thereby increasing the value of outputs per input. Second, manufacturing is inclined to have strong linkages to other economic sectors, creating demand for skills, inputs, manufacturing components, transportation, and storage. Therefore, the re-ignition of manufacturing boosts a wider range of activities, including those within the services sector. Third, most innovation and technological advances originate in the manufacturing realm, which then spill over into other industries, consequently enhancing their levels of productivity.
Capitalising on the continent’s resources and opportunities presented by significant shifts in the structure of global production ensures the implementation of domestic manufacturing and a commodity-based industrialisation process. This provides immense opportunities for job creation across South Africa.
Harnessing Africa’s opportunities for industrialisation involves adding value to domestic products, soft and hard commodities and developing forward and backward linkages to the regional and international value chains. Moreover, it remains essential to develop and expand SMEs, industry clusters and the establishment of private-public partnerships to leverage resources for financing the industrialisation process.
Further, implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) can develop regional value chains and accelerate productive transformation if African entities can harness digital innovations to reduce production costs and leaders can create policies for skills development, public procurement, and foreign investment to further reinforce industrial linkages.
The upcoming in-person symposium is anticipated to make a long lasting and positive impact on manufacturing communities by enabling attendees to identify significant participants, speakers, financiers, influencers, and leaders, thereby giving them the means to not only survive, but thrive in this intensely competitive sector. Attending this event affords participants with superior knowledge to develop advanced solutions and business models, as well as access to new markets, new clients and the opportunity to grow prosperous manufacturing businesses, ultimately contributing to the nation’s economic growth.
