Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa)

Administers South African trade, industry, competition, investment, and enterprise development programs.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, known as the dtic, is South Africa's primary industrial-policy ministry. It was formed in 2019 by merging the Department of Trade and Industry and the Economic Development Department, and it channels South African rand support into manufacturing, exports, infrastructure, innovation, and transformation programmes.

Its incentive stack includes the Support Programme for Industrial Innovation, Export Marketing and Investment Assistance, the Critical Infrastructure Programme, the Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme, the Agro Processing Support Scheme, and the Black Industrialists Scheme. The published award caps run from about R2 million on SPII's product-process route to R5 million on SPII's matching route, R20 million on APSS, and R50 million on CIP and BIS. The department also runs tax and non-financial support alongside these grant-style routes.

The dtic is most relevant for South African firms that can show local development, local production, export potential, or industrial transformation value. SPII expects significant technological advancement and local IP, EMIA now uses the Online Incentive Solution for individual participation, and several schemes are rolling windows rather than one-off competitions. The overall picture is an intervention-heavy ministry that backs firms from SMEs to large manufacturers across manufacturing, hardware, materials, agrifood, energy, transport, built environment, aerospace, and biotech.