Formal Consultations Between UNCTAD and South African Institutions

Formal consultation between UNCTAD and South Africa institutions: COMPCOM, DSBD, DTIC and Seda under the DA UN COVID19 Project: SME resurgence and the role of competition policy post COVID-19.

The Government of South Africa together with the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch of UNCTAD co-host a formal bilateral consultation to discuss the recommendations of the national study which focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on South Africa. 

This consultation will be an opportunity to discuss the recommendations which have been identified as relevant to the context of South Africa and discuss their implementation among the relevant agencies in charge of competition and MSME policies. This consultation will be key in laying grounds for potential future work on the subject matter of competition and MSME policies as part of South Africa’s recovery post COVID-19 crisis.
 
This activity is part of Phase III of the Project on “Global Initiative towards post-Covid-19 resurgence of the MSME sector – competition component” and is funded by the UN-DESA Development Account. Within the framework of this project, UNCTAD has been engaged in discussing with representatives from Competition Authorities and SME Agencies how competition policies can support the resurgence of MSMEs post COVID-19 crisis. 

In Phase I and II of the project from June 2020, the UNCTAD Team has carried out several activities together with the five United Nations Regional Economic Commissions (UN-ECLAC, UN-ESCAP, UN-ECA, UN-ECE, UN-ESCWA). The activities include; a global report on the interlinkages between competition and MSME policies, 3 national studies on the impact of COVID-19 on specific SME sectors in Brazil, Thailand, and South Africa and 5 regional webinars to discuss the recommendations of the global report and the three national studies can support the recovery of MSMEs.