The participatory development approach aims to involve the poor in initiatives and projects developed by external organizations in the hope that these projects will be more sustainable and successful.

The purpose of this approach is to ensure that attention is paid to the local population to maximize benefits and minimize negative impacts. For example, development projects in South Africa seek to involve the local population and introduce new technologies.

A participatory approach to development is one of the most important approaches in South Africa, as stakeholders collaborate and interact with community members to express their views on development and enhance those views to achieve community project goals and its sustainability.

South Africa is a land of diversity and culture. This approach allows foreign stakeholders to introduce foreign ideas and new technologies to suit social and cultural diversity and local communities, especially in provinces such as Limpopo, where a certain level of perception has not been developed.

There are many challenges to participatory development in both developed and developing countries. Problems resulting from the cycle of crime, despair, inequality, and poverty are at the heart of development challenges. These challenges are anti-participatory, and they hinder participatory development in South Africa.

Participatory development approach affirms that stimulating people's productive energy promotes greater participation of all people in productive processes and that the equitable distribution of their benefits becomes a central element of their development strategies.