The City of Cape Town, via its Enterprise and Investment Department under the Directorate of the Mayor, has facilitated R2,67 billion worth of investment, which has resulted in 6 236 direct jobs created for the people of Cape Town for the past financial year (July 2016 – June 2017).
The achievement of R2,67 billion worth of investments, 6 236 direct jobs created, and 2 052 people who received training comes against the City of Cape Town internal targets of R2,5 billion worth of investment, 5 000 jobs and 800 training initiatives respectively.
The Enterprise and Investment Department, through collaboration with its partners, facilitated the training of 2 052 people in various skills development programs.
The City has managed to attract the investments and skills training via its partnership with the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and the Western Cape Destination Marketing, Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (WESGRO).
SPVs were established to fulfil mandates in line with the Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town objectives of investment facilitation, industry development, job creation, and economic growth; while Wesgro was established by the Western Cape Government in collaboration with the City of Cape Town to develop and grow priority sectors in Cape Town.
The SPVs supported by the City include Business Process enabling South Africa WC, GreenCape, Cape Information and Technology Initiative, The Cape Craft and Design Institute, Cape Town Fashion Council, and the Western Cape Clothing and Textile Service Centre.
The City, for the July 2016 – June 2017 financial year, contributed R21,8 million in funding to the organisations to utilise for facilitating investment and industry development through sector specific interventions. These sector-specific interventions are intended to enhance sustainable growth and competitiveness in identified sectors that contribute to the City’s economy.
The investments were facilitated in business process out-sourcing, manufacturing, ICT, real-estate development and infrastructure. The source countries for these investments include the United Kingdom, Australia, The Netherlands, France, the Middle East as well as new and expansion projects by domestic (South African) companies.
These results have certainly made the City’s support to these organisations worthwhile and are in line with the Organisational Development and Transformation Plan’s priorities to position Cape Town as a globally competitive business destination and to enhance economic inclusion.
The results also reflect the implementation of our Integrated Development Plan’s objectives to enhance our contribution to creating an environment for economic growth and job creation through our business support project and the one-stop shop in the Mayor’s Office which assists investors with all the information they need to invest and open companies in Cape Town.
These are massive gains for Cape Town, especially in light of the various economic setbacks that South Africa has suffered in the past months, including ratings downgrades and electricity and water challenges, among others.
With South Africa being downgraded by various rating agencies to sub-investment grade, the City’s economy has managed to perform well in terms of investment and job creation.
These investments are a result of continued efforts by the Directorate of the Mayor and the City’s partners in positioning Cape Town as a preferred investment destination. In this regard, a number of initiatives are currently being implemented, including branding of Cape Town investment opportunities through the ‘Invest Cape Town’ initiative and the air access initiative, among other things.
Wesgro Chief Executive Officer, Tim Harris, said: ‘The significant levels of investment attracted into Cape Town demonstrate the resilience of the city economy, and the confidence investors have in the quality of the City of Cape Town’s governance. By cutting red tape, making it easier to do business in the region, and ensuring clean and efficient government, the city has successfully positioned itself as a top destination for investment globally. Wesgro is proud to serve as Cape Town and the Western Cape’s official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency and, together with the Mayor’s economic team, we will redouble our efforts to secure investment into the local economy over the next year. This year alone, we will undertake more than 75 missions around the world, sharing this excellent achievement, and encouraging more businesses to make Cape Town their home’.
The City is proud of its association with these partnerships and takes great pride in building and sustaining relationships with these organisations that support the City’s vision of an opportunity city that creates an enabling environment for economic growth and job creation, to provide assistance to those who need it most, to deliver quality services to all residents and to serve the communities of Cape Town as a well-governed and corruption-free administration.
We will be getting on with pushing the boundaries even more and letting the world know that Cape Town is open for business so that we can alleviate poverty through creating the much-needed jobs for the people of Cape Town.
