Many development interventions are driven by policy objectives: maximising employment, stimulating local procurement, supporting sector transformation or improving infrastructure access.
Development objectives rarely exist in isolation. What benefits communities socially may carry environmental costs. Job creation and tax generation can pull in opposite directions. Policies designed to stimulate investment in one area may disadvantage another. StratEcon is experienced in navigating these tensions, applying rigorous economic analysis to the complex trade-offs that define development decision-making in Southern Africa.
A key tool in this work is multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), which helps policymakers weigh competing objectives systematically. StratEcon has extensive experience setting up MCDA frameworks, assisting officials in weighting criteria according to policy priorities, scoring options and performing sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of outcomes.
StratEcon assesses the economic feasibility and contribution of industrial development initiatives, including Special Economic Zones, port infrastructure and sector-specific investment programmes. Our work for the Saldanha Bay IDZ includes both feasibility analysis and ongoing quarterly performance reviews, providing a sustained analytical partnership with a major industrial development client.
Many development interventions are driven by policy objectives: maximising employment, stimulating local procurement, supporting sector transformation or improving infrastructure access. StratEcon tailors its analytical approach to these specific objectives, producing assessments that speak directly to the criteria by which government departments and development institutions evaluate success.
Our economic development work spans the private sector, government and development finance.
We have conducted economic feasibility assessments and ongoing performance reviews for the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone, developed a Private Sector Participation framework for rail in South Africa for the National Treasury Operation Vulindlela Unit and the United Nations University, and assessed the Western Cape Maritime Industry for the Western Cape Government.
We also established the size and economic contribution of the Cape Town and Western Cape film industry for Wesgro, and developed a strategic model for the oil and gas industry for the Saldanha Bay IDZ.
Economic development work demands economists who can operate at the interface between policy intent and practical outcomes. StratEcon understands both the government frameworks within which development decisions are made and the analytical rigour that credible assessment requires. Our sustained engagement with development clients nationally means we bring genuine institutional understanding to every engagement.
StratEcon works with governments, development finance institutions and private sector clients on economic advisory engagements across Africa and internationally. Contact us to arrange a no-obligation introductory discussion.