National Development Corporation Strategic Plan (LNDC 2018-2023).

This National Development Corporation Strategic Plan is a 5-year nationwide cross-sectoral document aiming at (i) implementing economically sound investments with positive social impact on the communities and the local entrepreneurs, and (ii) reducing negative effects on the environment. As for its mandate, the purpose of the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is to initiate, promote and facilitate the development of manufacturing and processing industries, mining, and commerce in a manner calculated to raise the level of income and employment in the country. Thus, this document aims to achieve the LNDC Vision of being a catalyst for a diversified, globally competitive economy, underpinned by manufacturing and high-tech agro-processing industries. The Plan aims to achieve 5 main goals, each of which, within it, contains a series of strategic objectives, as follows (1) building customer-centric culture (improve the accessibility of the Corporation’s products/services to investors; improve the speed and quality of decision-making; improve the Corporation’s and national image to national and global stakeholders); (2) institutionalize a sustainable and impact investing ( reduce the negative environmental impact of LNDC’s investments; deepen social impact in LNDC’s investments; enhance the Corporation’s financial sustainability); (3) diversify the industrial output and market destinations (initiate, promote and facilitate investments into manufacturing and high-tech agro-processing industries and related supply chains; expand productive capacities of both domestic and foreign export-oriented firms; strengthen the market access for both domestic and foreign export-oriented firms); (4) mobilize funding for economic diversification (design and set up financial instruments to facilitate economic diversification; expand financial assistance to organizations and projects in furtherance of the Vision of the Corporation); (5) develop the right talent to drive economic diversification (develop the managerial and technical talent to facilitate the Corporation’s diversification initiatives).
To reduce rural poverty, the document envisages uplifting thousands of rural communities out of abject poverty by mainstreaming their participation in the supply chains of investments.
In order to enhance more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, main proposed interventions are (i) develop and implement model projects for agro-processing and related supply chains; (ii) develop governance manuals and implementation practice guides for community associations and cooperatives; (iii) mainstream social impact programs in the agro-processing related programs; (iv) initiate, facilitate and promote manufacturing and high-tech agro-processing and related supply chains in poultry, dairy, piggery, fisheries/aquaculture, and fruit/vegetables products; (v) promote organic food niche industry and build capacity of commercial farmers for organic food export market; (vi) initiate, promote, and facilitate the establishment of both cross-border and national agro-industrial parks; (vii) develop industry co-training skills program with export-oriented firms; (viii) facilitate linkages and skills transfer programs between Basotho owned firms and multinationals; (ix) establish national agricultural market infrastructure; (x) generate market access knowledge databank; (xi) provide market access support for agro-products.
The resilience of livelihoods to disasters can be increased through (i) adoption of international sustainability reporting standards in annual reports regarding energy and water usage, and industrial waste management; (ii) development of industrial and agro-industrial waste management infrastructure solutions, including identification and securing of sites; (iii) the setting up of a national agricultural (catastrophic) insurance for livestock and crops.
As for Governance, it is necessary to reconfigure the organizational platform, so that the LNDC structure will be realigned, and its business processes optimized to deliver one key performance parameter critical to the success of this plan.