Department of Trade and Industry (South Africa)


The Department of Trade and Industry is the department of the South African government with responsibility for commercial policy and industrial policy. The dti and its subsidiary agencies are involved in promoting economic development, Black Economic Empowerment, implementing commercial law, promoting and regulating international trade, and consumer protection.
The political head of the department is the Minister of Trade and Industry, who is assisted by a Deputy Minister., the minister is Rob Davies and the deputy minister is Mzwandile Masina. The executive head of the department is the Director-General of Trade and Industry; as of 21 April 2011 this is Lionel October.
In the 2010 national budget, the department received an appropriation of 6,150.1 million rand, and had 1,140 employees.

Subsidiary agencies

The dti Group includes various subordinate agencies which perform specific functions. These agencies are classified in three "clusters", as follows.

Development Finance and Small Business Development Institutions