ACCREDITATION: EMPOWERING SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES(SMEs)
There is no denying that SMEs contribute significantly to job creation in local economies and contribute towards global economic development.
SMEs are also key in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
• Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all.
• Goal 9: Build Resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
Accreditation is a vital tool that enables SMEs to deliver sustainable growth and innovation by delivering confidence and assuring competency. This year’s focus of World Accreditation Day 2025 aims to highlight how accreditation bodies like SADCAS encourage wider adoption of accreditation by SMEs across the global economy.
About SADCAS
The Southern African Development Community Accreditation Service (SADCAS) is a multi-economy accreditation body established in terms of Article 15 B of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Annex to the SADC Protocol on Trade with the primary purpose of ensuring that conformity assessment service providers operating in those SADC Member States which do not have national accreditation bodies are subject to an oversight by an authoritative body. Typically, in the developed world, each country has its own accreditation body but within the SADC region considering the cost of establishing and sustaining such a body and further taking into account the limited financial and human resources, the region decided to establish one accreditation body which services the accreditation needs of a number of countries.
SADCAS services the accreditation needs of 14 SADC Member States namely: Angola; Botswana; Comoros; Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Eswatini; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Seychelles; Tanzania; Zambia; and Zimbabwe. SADCAS provides accreditation services to organizations that perform calibration, testing including medical testing, inspection, certification (personnel, product and management systems) and those that provide legal metrology services against international standards. SADCAS will broaden its scope of accreditation as needs arise. SADCAS also offers training services on accreditation related activities. The accreditation certificates issued by SADCAS for testing/calibration/medical laboratories, inspection bodies and management systems certification bodies’ accreditation schemes and the sub-scopes quality/food/environmental/occupational health and safety managements systems are recognized worldwide thus removing the need for repetitive conformity assessment checks. Effectively this means that through internationally recognized accreditation SADC Member States serviced by SADCAS have better access to foreign markets – A truly global reach!
SADCAS is now in its 17th year of operation and accreditations continue to grow in terms of field and scope of accreditation, sectoral coverage and also in terms of geographical diversity. As at 31 March 2025 SADCAS had granted 48 new accreditations, issued 381 certificates to 325 facilities to 13 SADC MS including Mauritius (2); and 4 certificates to 2 non-SADC MS Burundi and Uganda. As at 31 March 2025 70 new applications were under process and SADCAS had cumulatively conducted 308 training courses in most SADC Member States as part of its efforts to develop capacity of conformity assessment bodies for accreditation, 34 of which were conducted in 2024/25 financial year. SADCAS services are focused on the SADC priority sectors as identified in the SADC Industrial Policy and the organization makes every effort to ensure that its services are accessible to both large and small to medium-sized businesses. Leveraging technology, SADCAS has the capability to offer services in 3 SADC Official Languages, English, French and Portuguese, which has assisted the organization to reach as many of the conformity assessment bodies in the region in the most remote geographical areas.
For more information, please visit the SADCAS website www.sadcas.org or Contact our Communications and Public Relations Office at bbadubi@sadcas.org
