PRESS RELEASES
City-funded Strategic Business Partners secure R8,8 billion worth of investment
9 November 2020
STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS
The City of Cape Town is very proud to confirm that over the last six months, between April and September 2020, the City’s Strategic Business Partners (SBPs) collectively facilitated R8,8 billion worth of investment, created 4 980 jobs and trained 1 366 people, despite the various stages of lockdown and economic downturn we have faced.
A key component of the Economic Action Plan (EAP) was to ensure that our SBPs pivoted their plans and used the funding from the City to support businesses through these difficult times. The Economic Action Plan was developed by the Economic Task Team, which I set up to respond to the impact of the lockdown on our economy.
The City provides funding to SBPs and these impressive figures are a great return on investment for residents. It proves that by implementing targeted and proven strategies, we can get back to business.
Our SBPs include the Craft and Design Institute, Cape Town Fashion Council, Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster, the Cape IT Initiative, Wesgro, CapeBPO, Clotex, Cape Town Tourism, Blue Cape and GreenCape. Most of these partner organisations are linked to industry sectors in which there is impressive potential for growth.
What has become clear is that the EAP is the best chance for economic readiness and recovery because it is working. Cape Town has a very strong investment ecosystem precisely because our SBPs attract the investors. The Investment Facilitation Unit, within the City’s Enterprise and Investment Department, makes sure that they have a smooth landing in the City.
Our EAP also includes enhancing business retention efforts, making it easier for expansion and investment to resume again; equipping businesses for new ways of working, and using the City’s sectoral support approach to identify and exploit new sectoral opportunities emerging from the crisis.
Attracting the investments we need to create jobs will continue to be my priority. The strategies implemented and the collective achievements by our SBPs prove that where there is a will, there is a way to plot a sustainable path to economic recovery. By working together and implementing targeted strategies, we can emerge stronger than before.
