OVERVIEW Film Investment
OVERVIEW Film Investment in film is creating good returns. SECTOR INSIGHT The Dam drama series has attracted viewers and award nominations. The Eastern Cape Provincial Government, through the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, invested R23-million over four years in the film industry. The return on this investment was a highly-creditable R389-million with the creation of 6 900 jobs and 572 SMMEs benefitting during the production phases. The Economic Impact Report of the National Film and Video Foundation in 2021 concluded that the film industry is one of the sectors with the greatest potential for growth in South Africa. In addition to concrete financial benefits, the rewards to the province of having tens of thousands of TV series and film watchers soaking up the scenery of the province, while difficult to quantify, will be considerable. About 13 projects were supported, including one of the top ten most-watched television shows on Showmax in 2021, The Dam. Set in an Eastern Cape farming community, this psychological thriller was one of the most nominated series at the 2022 South African Film and Television Awards. Tourism, one of the best sectors for creating employment, will have been boosted by two series of the popular Survivor series. Survivor: Immunity Island, pictured, which was aired in 2021, showed off the glories of the Wild Coast landscape, one of the jewels in the crown of the province’s tourism offering. Skills transfer to young people has also accelerated with the investments taking place in four of the province’s district or metropolitan municipalities. The six goals outlined by the ECDC as its goals in supporting the development of the film industry in the province are: • attract major direct investments on a consistent basis • create a number of temporary and permanent jobs • promote the province as a film tourism destination • increase the participation by SMMEs during filming • increase opportunities for skills enhancement for young people • increase revenue through the contribution of film production companies to taxes There is also potential for the growth and development of a thriving film industry to have a positive impact on other sectors such as communication, media and entertainment. The industry, through its products, further promotes cultural knowledge and attracts international interest to the region. ■ ONLINE RESOURCES Department of Trade, Industry and Competition: www.thedtic.gov.za Eastern Cape Development Corporation: www.ecdc.co.za Film and Publication Board: www.fpb.org.za National Film and Video Foundation: www.nfvf.co.za EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2023/24 32
OVERVIEW Global Business Services The ECDC has a generous incentive scheme. Callzilla, a call centre servicing the US market, has chosen to locate its latest office in East London. Citing reports that South Africa is ranked third in the world among English-speaking destinations, Callzilla notes that 90% of services delivered from South Africa are related to customer experience (CX) and contact centre services. The investment in East London has created happy customers in the US, according to Callzilla, and happy employees, pictured. The GBS Incentive scheme of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) provides investment-funding support for financially viable propositions that create youth employment opportunities. There are three tiers of support available, depending on the size of the investment and how many jobs and opportunities for local SMMEs are created. For a R50-million project over three years, a maximum sum of R400 000 is available while a contract between R201-million and R500-million might attract up to R1.2-million in support. South Africa’s GBS sector, previously known as BPO, is growing twice as fast as the world’s and three times faster than India and the Philippines. The Eastern Cape has four universities and eight TVET colleges, highspeed connectivity and an attractive lifestyle. Other factors in favour of the area are the relatively neutral accents, good financial and telecommunications infrastructure and the time zone being the same or close to Europe’s. The East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) has an ONLINE RESOURCES Business Process enabling South Africa (BPeSA): www.bpesa.org.za Coega SEZ: www.coega.co.za Eastern Cape Development Corporation: www.ecdc.co.za East London Industrial Development Zone: www.elidz.co.za Credit: Don’t Stare Pictures SECTOR INSIGHT A UNDP programme is boosting digital skills. ICT strategy that intends creating an ICT Hub which will include a dedicated GBS facility, a scalable data centre and a 1 000-seat-business continuity and ICT training facility. The ELIDZ currently operates two data centres with ISO27001 accreditation and has obtained approval for the concept development of an 800-seater GBS Park in conjunction with an interested party. As of May 2023, a total of 1 529 jobs had been created in the Coega Business Process Outsourcing Park of the Coega SEZ. Discovery Health and Startek are the tenants of the park, with almost all of the employees being classified as permanent and 70% as youth. The Coega BPO Park offers a customised space at competitive rates in addition to an uninterrupted power supply, in-house recruitment, training, a variety of incentives and the convenience of being accessible to all main transportation nodes. A Future Skills Platform programme passed on digital skills to 959 people early in 2023, courtesy of the Eastern Cape branch of Business Processing enabling South Africa (BPESA), Evolution, Coega SEZ and Volkswagen SA. The programme has been running since October 2022 under the auspices of the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). ■ EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2023/24
