The ICT and green economy sectors are fuelling the Western Cape’s investments, as well as competitiveness, at a global level, says Wesgro.
This, as the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape anticipates over R4.1 billion in new direct investment in the regional economy over the next five years, helping to create 1 507 new direct jobs.
Wesgro, in its investment results for the 2022-2023 financial year, highlights that more than half of the investment value over the past decade can be attributed to the ICT and green economy sectors.
For the 2022-2023 period under review, Wesgro says a total of 14 new projects were facilitated, and investments occurred across multiple sectors, most notably the green economy.
It adds that R1.3 billion of the facilitated investments was for the expansion of existing businesses in the destination.
“The majority of the investments were attracted into sectors within the green economy: renewable energy manufacturing, waste economy, sustainable agriculture, electric mobility.”
With recent policy shifts to open the energy market to private investment, Wesgro foresees that investment in clean energy technologies will increase exponentially.
Wesgro CEO Wrenelle Stander comments that the ongoing energy crisis in the country is fuelling investments in renewables, which bodes well for Cape Town and the Western Cape. “The region, blessed with abundant sun and wind, has been pushing to position itself as the lowest carbon area in South Africa and the leading green economic hub in Africa.
“I am pleased with these results, and would like to acknowledge the dedication of the GreenCape team in working with us to land significant investment in the province. We are seeing more opportunities emerging right here in our province, driven by international shifts to clean energy, geopolitics, the load-shedding crisis, and importantly, policy reforms in the energy space.
“With recent policy shifts to open the energy market to private investment, investment into clean energy technologies is expected to grow. This is expected to boost energy security in the medium- to long-term.”
The Western Cape, an advocate of its green economy and technology sectors as enablers of growth and job creation, boasts a thriving tech ecosystem, being the home of tech heavyweights such as Naspers, Takealot, Aerobotics, Clickatell, GetSmarter, Yoco and SweepSouth.
Furthermore, Western Cape cities like Cape Town and Stellenbosch are increasingly becoming key hubs in the tech entrepreneur community.
In 2021, Wesgro revealed that roughly R1.2 billion disclosed investments were injected into the City of Cape Town’s tech start-ups across 46 deals in 2020, making the city a major investment hub.
According to Wesgro, the province is one of SA’s key economic regions, contributing about 14% to the country’s gross domestic product. Therefore, attracting investment is key to creating jobs in the Western Cape, it notes.
Alderman James Vos, Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for economic growth, notes: “As the city, we have prioritised goals within our economic action plan for the delivery of investment promotion. This is why we fund and work with partners such as Wesgro.”
Mireille Wenger, Western Cape finance and economic opportunities minister, adds: “The more investments we land, the more jobs we can help create, and I welcome the work done by Wesgro to facilitate significant investments in the Western Cape over the next five years.
“The team continues to be on hand to help investors interested in the Western Cape and to provide strategic guidance on regulatory requirements, to make it as easy as possible to do business.
“Wesgro, together with the private sector, is and will continue to be a vital catalyst for economic growth and job creation in the province. As the provincial government, we will continue to play our part by supporting and enabling the private sector, who are the key drivers of job creation.”
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