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Western Cape Business 2022

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Green technology

Green technology manufacturers welcome at Atlantis SEZ Business Development Executive Jarrod Lyons explains how the ASEZ offers a great location to trade with Africa and to benefit from South Africa’s renewable energy procurement programme. The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) for green technologies is located on the West Coast of South Africa, in the Cape Town Metro. The zone is dedicated to manufacturing and provision of services in the green technology space. Wind turbines, solar panels, insulation, biofuels, electric vehicles, materials recycling and green building materials are examples of green technology that are welcomed. The Atlantis Special Economic Zone SOC (ASEZCo) has undertaken over the past few years to establish itself as a globally-competitive company operating state-of-the-art infrastructure in Cape Town. The ASEZCo is equipped to assist both local and foreign investors in landing their green technology manufacturing investment in a seamless, well-managed process which eliminates unnecessary red tape and promotes a fast-tracking to market. As a value proposition, the ASEZ offers Greentech manufacturers benefits from colocation and clustering. Our partners’ competitive advantage rests on making more productive use of inputs, which requires continual innovation. We achieve this through the Living Lab by providing our partners with a platform to share knowledge, resources and outputs in a manner which promotes profitability through resource efficiency. Our established partnerships with tertiary institutions contribute to our ability to provide our partners with well-curated skills driven by their needs, as well as the needs of a transitioning, traditional, coal-based economy to a green economy. The ASEZCo has enterprise development initiatives in place, which provide our partners with a suitable list of entities from which they can procure goods and services. Integration into our Living Lab bodes well for new partners, as we assist them in identifying collaborative opportunities with existing partners and facilitating engagements, which will lead to an WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2022 12

ithout ff line FOCUS improvement in the overall triple-bottom-line of all partners located in the ASEZ. New partners sought The Business Development Unit of the ASEZCo has placed a tremendous amount of its marketing energy in the community-focused communications and events for the direct benefit of the community. There comes a time, however, when community expectations need to be met. This can only be done through the landing of new and expansion of existing partners in the ASEZ with the view to create jobs and employment opportunities for the broader SMME network in the Atlantis and surrounding areas. The Business Development Unit has taken the stance of a more commercially-focused entity by reaching out to specifically targeted investors who want to benefit from integrating into the Living Lab of the ASEZ. The unit benefits from expertise in the green economy and leverages relationships with organisations like Wesgro and GreenCape to remain relevant in green economy investment promotion. With ASEZCo’s comprehensive understanding of Greentech value chains, the unit has the ability to identify partners with capabilities of servicing the needs of the South African and African Greentech markets. Servicing the growing African market with green technologies which contribute to sustainable infrastructure development is a superb way in which SEZs can make a difference. The ASEZ for green technology manufacturing is perfectly suited to enhance trade opportunities with Africa and the rest of the globe as it is well located on the southern tip of Africa close to two ports with capabilities of landing and exporting bulk goods, as well as containers filled with sub-components. With the awarding of 25 projects in Round 5 of the REIPPPP, and the stringent localisation requirements associated with the REIPPPP, the ASEZ is well positioned to capitalise on component manufacturing opportunities to service the IPP projects recently awarded. The ASEZCo is utilising this market opportunity to coordinate a collaborative sales pitch to partners which can establish their manufacturing facilities in the ASEZ. This collaborative approach encompasses InvestSA (the dtic), Wesgro, InvestCT and GreenCape and has demonstrated significant success in the past. We continue to engage with potential partners with our ASEZ and are adamant that we will achieve significant success in this regard over the next 12 to 18 months. ■ CONTACT For additional information on investing in Atlantis Special Economic Zone and understanding the Greentech landscape in South Africa, please contact Jarrod Lyons at jarrod@atlantissez.co.za 13 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2022

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