SPECIAL FEATURE Nearly 4
SPECIAL FEATURE Nearly 4 000 filming permits were issued for Cape Town in the year to July 2023. In addition, he quoted the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021, where Cape Town is listed as the number one performer in Africa for technology ecosystems and is home to almost two-thirds of all start-ups in South Africa. There are 22 active incubators and accelerators in the region which provide networking and marketing opportunities and links to funders and markets. It is because the Western Cape has been investing in digital infrastructure that the Premier can persuasively make these claims. The provincial government’s broadband roll-out project is in Phase 2. The Western Cape Department of Health was the first in the country to go digital, including 265 primary healthcare centres and 181 mobile posts. Cape Town also, according to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), ranked second in Africa in 2020 (behind Mauritius) in competitiveness as a financial centre. Neighbouring Stellenbosch is advancing its reputation for technological innovation and the output of the region’s four universities and six TVET colleges ensures that the tech sector has the necessary human capital. Cape Town’s share of national employment in the financial sector is about 20% and the contribution to gross value-added (GVA) is 15%. Economy Finance, business services and real estate combined contribute 28% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Western Cape. The financial services and insurance sector are key components of the economy. Although agriculture accounts for just 4.3% of GDP on its own, the sector is responsible for the fruit and vegetables that contribute to agro-processing which accounts for nearly 40% of the province’s export basket. (Agro-processing accounts for 8.1% of GDP.) Citrus, wine, apples and pears, grapes, fruit juice, fruit and nuts and tobacco all appear in the top 10 of the province’s exports. Seventy percent of South Africa’s beverage exports come from the Western Cape. Grapes and wine sales to Europe remain strong, but the Chinese market is becoming increasingly important. The province has a diverse manufacturing sector ranging from textiles, clothing, footwear, boatbuilding and furniture to coke and refined petroleum products. Excluding agro-processing, other manufacturing makes up 6.9% of GDP. Investment The province has a dedicated investment agency, Wesgro, which also works to promote the region’s tourism. The Investment Promotion Unit of Wesgro is working with various regions within the Western Cape to attract investment and accelerate exports. In recent years, the biggest investments have been in renewable energy and manufacturing. Between 2003 and 2021, the Western Cape attracted .93-billion in renewable energy projects. Other important sectors are agro-processing, aviation, business services, education and training, financial services, real estate, ICT, light manufacturing, oil and gas, timber, tourism, waste beneficiation and clean energy. Another vehicle for attracting investment are Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Industrial Development Zones (IDZ). Zones at Atlantis and Saldanha aim to tap into growing markets – maritime, oil and gas and renewable technologies. The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) is attracting investors in the greentech market. An early investor in the zone was GRI Towers South Africa, a wind turbine tower manufacturer. ■ WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024 6 PHOTO: CCID
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