Last week, the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) announced that they will host an inaugural Eswatini Investment Conference on 14 to 15 May 2025.
The conference is aimed at attracting further international and domestic direct investment and trade into Eswatini. The event is an extension of the various strategic engagements Eswatini has been having with prospective investors worldwide. Key international, regional and local potential investors are expected to participate in the conference. They will be joined by policymakers and high-ranking officials from Eswatini government agencies and departments and the business community, including investors, financiers, economic development support institutions, and financial intermediaries.
The conference will unpack the value of Eswatini as an investment and trade destination. The conference is hosted in line with the country’s strategic objective of positioning Eswatini as an investment and trade destination to the world.
In his media announcement, Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini, said “Eswatini is positioning itself to succeed in a more competitive and dynamic investment landscape worldwide”.
“The Eswatini Investment Conference marks one of government’s bold steps towards igniting the growth of Eswatini’s economy. We have set an ambitious target to accelerate the pace of our economic growth at 12% per annum by the end of the Fiscal Year 2029. As part of achieving this target, we are implementing several programmes and policy strategies in the next three years”, he added.
The conference, organised by the EIPA under the guidance of Eswatini’s Ministry of Commerce Industry and Trade, has been themed “Creating opportunities for rapid economic transformation”. The main focus of the conference deliberations will be the key economic sectors, which are Mining, Agribusiness, Manufacturing, Tourism and Energy.
It will kick off with a gala dinner for high level business and government stakeholders on 14 May. The second day of the conference, 15 May 2025, will be a combination of panel discussions, business presentations and B2B meetings aimed at marketing the Kingdom of Eswatini to potential investment partners from around the world. Details around conference tickets will be made available in due course.
Prime Minister Dlamini revealed that “The first key deliverable of the programme of action is to ensure a business ready environment and to attract mega foreign direct investments including stimulating domestic investments for re-investment and expansion. Through this conference, we plan to reaffirm Eswatini’s position as the premier investment destination in Southern Africa. The conference will provide an opportunity and a platform where we will announce certain strategic and high impact projects largely driven by the private sector”. He added that his government will share with conference participants information about the various policy changes and programmes to create an enabling business environment and investment policy.
While the Kingdom of Eswatini may not be significant in size, it offers a compelling value proposition for investors. This includes its strategic location, close to major South African and Mozambican ports, which facilitates convenient export opportunities.
Eswatini also boasts world-class infrastructure, good telecommunications connectivity and a highly literate workforce with a 95% literacy rate. This, coupled with easy access to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) market and membership in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), AfCFTA, COMESA, AGOA, the SADC-EU EPA and others all enable preferential trade between Eswatini and these regions which in-turn positions Eswatini as a gateway to Africa and the globe for investors.
“The groundwork has been done in highlighting the investment opportunities available in our country to both local and foreign investors,” said Prime Minister Dlamini. “Government, through the support of its relevant institutions, has already screened some of the projects to be announced during the conference. These projects cut across the above identified key economic sectors that will create thousands of jobs.”
