During the 19th edition of the Entrepreneurs of the Year Awards, King Mswati III issued a solemn call to the kingdom’s entrepreneurs to venture beyond national borders and seize the opportunities offered by regional and global markets. This vision is part of a broader strategy for economic transformation, aimed at making Eswatini an export-oriented and resolutely competitive economy.
The sovereign reaffirmed the national objective of developing entrepreneurs whose businesses would achieve an annual turnover of one billion Emalangeni.
This ambition, he emphasized, is not limited to individual financial success. It is part of a larger project: raising Eswatini’s presence on the global stage and building an export-driven economy.
A complementary directive from the February 2026 Throne Speech goes even further, setting the target of creating at least ten companies generating 10 billion Emalangeni in annual turnover in high-growth sectors.
The King urged entrepreneurs to fully leverage the trade agreements that place the kingdom at the crossroads of several markets.
With a population of barely 1.2 million, Eswatini enjoys privileged access to major economic blocs. The SACU market expands access to nearly 50 million consumers, while the SADC opens the doors to twelve countries representing over 130 million people. COMESA, the AfCFTA, and AGOA (with its customs advantages for the United States) offer access to hundreds of millions of additional consumers.
The Prime Minister also welcomed this direction, inviting investors to consider Eswatini as a “gateway to the rest of Africa.”
The AfCFTA, in particular, is seen as a historic opportunity for entrepreneurs to access a unified continental market for goods and services, with free movement of investment and businesspeople.
This vision is accompanied by a concrete strategy to transform Eswatini into a regional manufacturing hub.
The creation of the Taiwan Innovation and Business Park in Phocweni, which enjoys royal support, is a pillar of this strategy. This industrial park is intended to serve as a launchpad for technology companies seeking to access Southern African markets. At the same time, the government is focusing on business environment reform (Business One Stop Shop) and reducing logistics costs for a landlocked country.
King Mswati III’s bet is clear: to make the kingdom’s small size an asset, its political stability a selling point, and its strategic position a lever for conquering the world. A vision that calls on entrepreneurs to become the economic ambassadors of an Eswatini resolutely looking toward the future.
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