Cape Town is open for business

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS 

As we plot the way forward to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown measures, I had the great pleasure of relaunching the City of Cape Town’s campaign to position Cape Town as a destination of choice for investment. More companies are choosing the city because we offer the services, infrastructure, sound governance, skilled workforce and political will needed to grow the economy.

This campaign will target investors and confirm that Cape Town is ‘Open for Business’. Just last year, through our targeted approach, R2,6 billion worth of investment was secured, 5 720 jobs were created and 2 048 people were trained by the City’s Special Business Partners (SBPs).

This is the power of partnerships in practice.

The City provides funding and collaborates with strategic business partners to address developmental challenges but also, to actively seek out opportunities to grow our economy by attracting investment.

Our expanding world-class airport, our well-located harbour with access to African and international markets and our ability to transact land to unlock economic potential, makes Cape Town a prime location for businesses looking to launch their operations internationally.

The City’s Enterprise and Investment Department focuses exclusively on attracting investment, providing various kinds of specialist support to small and large businesses, as well as investment incentives and skills development so we can help businesses reach their full potential and employ more people.

For more information on the City’s business brand, Invest Cape Town, visit www.investcapetown.com

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, I also established the Tourism Task Team which focused the interventions needed to minimise the devastating effect the national lockdown measures had on the tourism and related industries.

Our focus is on getting all sectors back to business because our economy relies on visitors who visit Cape Town for events, conferences, leisure and business. At the end of the day, these industries are all dependent on travel and trade to thrive and grow.

Together with the City’s Destination Marketing Organisation, Cape Town Tourism, and other key stakeholders, combined with the initiatives we have in place, we will bounce back, stronger and more sustainable than before and in time for our city’s peak visitor season.

Our economic landscape is resilient precisely because we prioritise and support the high-growth sectors to drive demand that makes business sense.

The sectors include:

• Tourism and hospitality;
• Business Process Outsourcing sector (call centre operations);
• Sea and sky economies;
• Tech sector – including PharmaTech;
• Green tech sector; and
• Clothing and design

There is more work to be done and initiatives that facilitate economic growth and job creation are needed now more than ever.

We will invest in targeted messaging to key source markets across the globe so that Cape Town is front of mind for those businesses looking for the right place to set up and invest.

Where there is a will, there is a way to make progress and growth possible. The City is committed to creating the right environment to attract local or foreign investment and together, we will continue to make it easier to do business, to grow our economy and create more jobs post COVID-19.