A new public-private initiative has been launched in an effort to support the growth and development of South Africa’s manufacturing sector, whose recovery from the Covid lockdowns is currently being undermined by intense daily loadshedding. Known as the Localisation Support Fund (LSF), the non-profit company is being funded by the private sector, but has a board that includes government, labour and business representatives, including Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel, who is LSF chairperson.