Funded by UNU-WIDER

Regional Growth and Development in Southern Africa (UNU-WIDER)

2015–2017

As part of the UNU-WIDER Regional Growth and Development in Southern Africa project, CCRED undertook research on the implications of the rapid expansion of supermarkets in the Southern African region for local supplier participation in supermarket supply chains. The research, conducted through extensive firm-level interviews in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, examined how the growth of supermarket networks shaped opportunities and constraints for regional suppliers. The studies highlighted the potential benefits of supermarket participation, including access to larger markets, economies of scale, and capability development. At the same time, the research identified significant barriers to entry and participation, including challenges in accessing shelf space and the exclusionary effects of buyer power exercised by large supermarket chains.

The project contributed important insights into regional retail value chains, competition dynamics, supplier upgrading, and inclusive participation in regional markets, resulting in a series of working papers and journal publications.

Project papers

  1. The expansion of regional supermarket chains and implications for local suppliers

  2. The expansion of regional supermarket chains

  3. The expansion of regional supermarket chains: Implications on suppliers in Botswana and South Africa

  4. Development of the animal feed to poultry value chain across Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

  5. Identifying growth opportunities in the Southern African Development Community through regional value chains

  6. Mining-related national systems of innovation in southern Africa

  7. Can mining promote industrialization?

  8. Understanding intra-regional transport: Competition in road transportation between Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

  9. Towards the integration of markets: Competition in road transportation of perishable goods between Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Research Briefs

  1. Supermarkets and regional growth in Southern Africa

  2. Reducing transport costs to spur regional growth in Southern Africa

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

  1. The internationalisation of supermarkets and the nature of competitive rivalry in retailing in southern Africa

  2. Causes of high road freight costs in southern Africa for perishables and commodities

  3. Regional Value Chains in SADC: The case of the animal feed to poultry value chain

  4. Mining-related National Systems of Innovation in Southern Africa: A Regional Perspective

INTERVIEWS

  1. Regional Integration and the Role of Supermarkets - an interview with Reena das Nair

  2. Regional Integration and Mining Value Chains - an interview with Judith Fessehaie

  3. Reena Das Nair – Southern Africa: Supermarkets Across the Region

  4. Simon Roberts – Playing Chicken: Food and Trade in Southern Africa

MINI DOCUMENTARIES

  1. Regional integration in southern Africa through supermarkets

OP-eds

  1. How big supermarket chains in southern Africa keep out small suppliers

  2. Why new entrants struggle to break into South Africa’s retail space