City of Cape Town hosts Consular Corps Green Economy Summit

The City has prioritised the green economy as a high growth sector that unlocks opportunities for investment in the local economy. It is anticipated that this sector will make a significant contribution to sustainable job creation for the future.

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In line with this commitment, the City under the Invest Cape Town banner together with GreenCape, hosted the Cape Town Consular Corps Green Economy strategic engagement session on Friday 18 October at the Invest SA One Stop Shop in St. Georges Mall.

This was followed by a site visit to the Atlantis Special Economic Zone.

‘We provide our international partners and potential investors with a compelling case to consider Cape Town as a preferred green economy investment destination. In addition, we position the Atlantis Special Economic Zone for Green Technology as a dedicated greentech manufacturing hub. The hub is expected to grow the greentech sector in the Western Cape more broadly, and revitalise Atlantis as a key industrial node in the region,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos.

Friday’s event was aimed at highlighting the City’s approach to promoting catalytic sectors, of which the green economy is one. In promoting this sector, the City aims to provide an enabling ecosystem for green investment through funding green skills and enterprise development programmes.

‘My departmental strategy is to create an enabling environment to attract investment that generates economic growth and job creation in Cape Town. Through partnerships, we deliver sector projects, facilitate investment, create jobs and enable skills development programmes aligned with the City’s strategic priorities. This includes the City’s partnership with the Western Cape Government, Wesgro, GreenCape and other industry players through the sector bodies which the Enterprise & Investment Department funds,’ said Alderman Vos.

Investment will however only have a sustainable positive impact when it lands within an enabling eco-system that includes a focus on green skills and enterprise development programmes, facilitates business networking and knowledge transfer through events and partnerships. This includes the City’s partnerships with national and provincial government, GreenCape and Wesgro, and its regular reflection on strategic response to global green economy developments.

‘It is within the context of these strong enabling networks that the international relations between the City and its highly valued partnerships with cities across the world can flourish,’ added the City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato.

Mayor Plato highlighted how the City works with global partner cities and noted how these partnerships are critical in attracting skills and investment to Cape Town. He highlighted how sharing information between cities is key to dealing with challenging situations and that access to a wider variety of partners from all over the globe is beneficial to cities, given the demands that have emerged with the globalisation process and the pool of knowledge that such platforms can provide.