This paper has a discrete, bounded and limited focus. It is about the role of government in facilitating cluster development in developing country contexts. The paper is therefore concerned with asking a number of interconnected questions around the role of industrial policy and government interventions in creating and facilitating industrial clustering and networking between firms. Within the ambit of industrial policy it seeks to locate government's role in facilitating clustering, in order for firms to learn through networking how to become more internationally competitive. The paper attempts to throw light on this issue by focusing on the experience two of the authors have had in setting up and running a number of clusters in the automotive sector in South Africa, as well as the experience of the third working in local government with a brief to accelerate local economic development and foster clustering in selected sectors.