Campaign to attract foreign investment

Wesgros chief executive officer Tim Harris at the launch of the new investor promotion campaign.

The provincial government, the City of Cape Town, InvestSA One Stop Shop Western Cape and Wesgro launched a new global investment promotion campaign to attract foreign investment into the city and province.

The launch took place at the InvestSa One Stop Shop in St George’s Mall on Thursday January 30.

The campaign aims to send a message to the world – that Cape Town and the Western Cape is open for business, and there are many opportunities in sectors identified by the City.

It takes the form of a promotion campaign, with a digital aspect, which will roll out in February.

Once the campaign is launched, interested investors will be able to communicate with a promotion team via a web page. The team will be based at the OneStop shop and will assist with landing investment deals.

The web page will also have information about the growing sectors identified by the government, including the agricultural, aviation and marine sectors, clothing and textile, food and beverages, property and the tech sector.

The campaign is expected to reach international markets already identified by previous research, including China, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

James Vos, the City’s mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management, said one of his aims is to grow Cape Town into the investor capital of Africa. To assist companies, he said the City had provided access to the “ingredients of success”.

“In addition to a world-class airport which is currently undergoing massive expansion, a harbour which gives access to African and international markets for goods and our ability to transact land to unlock economic potential, the City also provides key services to support and grow business.”

With the opening of the Business Hub in Strand Street last year, the City was able to reduce barriers, red tape and support small businesses and entrepreneurs (“City opens business hub”, Capetowner, August 9, 2019).

The hub offers services such as guidance and information on how to start a business, providing contact details of business development services, and face-to-face consultations by appointment.

“For our city to compete globally and achieve inclusive socio-economic growth, we continue to invest in skills and training for the sectors that are poised for substantial growth, instead of training for training sake. In doing this, we are working to ensure that our residents have the skills that companies need to grow and therefore, employ more people.”

Mr Vos said that they were in talks with global call centre Teleperformance about future investment. “Cape Town is fast becoming the call centre hub, with thousands of jobs being created. People are being trained daily.”

He said the boat-building economy had lots of potential for growth, as South Africa was the second largest producer of catamarans in the world after France.

The Western Cape MEC for finance and economic opportunities, David Maynier, said the Western Cape is open for business, and they wanted all potential investors to know about the opportunities available in the province.

“This campaign will ensure that the best of the Western Cape is showcased and all those responsible for economic development, at both the provincial and municipal level, have the tools and assets available to promote the Western Cape when engaging with investors. As such, we welcome this campaign and thank Wesgro for their efforts in working collaboratively to align the interests of all partners involved.”

He said the Western Cape has the highest property values in Africa, and is the digital hub of Africa, with skilled workforces and ever-growing tech hubs all over the province.

Outside the city, he said, Cape Town had growing agricultural sectors and wine estates in places like Paarl and Stellenbosch. “We have a lot to be proud of, but we have work to do. But we are backing business by saying we are open for business.”

The campaign goes live on investwesterncape.com and investcapetown.com at the end of February and will run until mid-year.