The quest to ensure local development and the empowerment of local people has seen countries in the developing world invest considerable amounts of resources to ensure that such become realisable. South Africa is confronted by issues of inequality and a high rate of unemployment and, as a result, great emphasis has been placed on Local Economic Development (LED) as a catalyst for the eradication of poverty. The high rate of poverty in South Africa has been a consequence of both unemployment and inequality and, going forward; it threatens to hinder the government's plan of lifting millions out of poverty. To understand if LED as a tool has been successful in reducing poverty, the study on which this article is based, employed a qualitative research method, including a systematic review of the literature relating to LED, its growth, emphasis and consolidation in South Africa. Subsequently, the study on which this article is based u