Abstract
The global production challenges we face need to be addressed in the multifaceted context
of sustainability. Startup enterprises need to be both creative and innovative in order to
survive and realize growth. Production clusters are usually formed as a result of common
geographical location and/or similar economic activity. Clustering can support distributed
manufacturing incubators to overcome social, economic and technological challenges
through sharing resources. As these clusters must contribute socio-economically to its
community, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs, complex systems exist. The aim of this paper is to encourage ourselves to direct our
research towards concepts which reduce production complexity and support simplicity. This
research evaluates several production clusters toward sustainable value creation in
developing communities. Key elements of a clustered based growth framework are identified
to support manufacturing incubators in South Africa.