30-03-2017
Today Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde joined Wesgro in launching the agency’s plan for the upcoming 2017/18 financial year entitled Wesgro’s Global Economic Priorities for the Cape.
Tim Harris, Wesgro’s CEO said “Our economists and managers have surveyed growth trends, and analysed markets and sectors, and identified the agency’s priorities for the next financial year. These priorities highlight significant opportunities for Cape companies looking to invest, export, and tap into the growth of our tourism economy.”
“That is why we have published this plan of action for the next twelve months”, Harris continued, “and why we are inviting local companies to join our trade and investment missions around the rest of Africa and the world, and to get involved with Wesgro-led initiatives”.
As usual, the Wesgro Research Unit will be setting the direction of the agency by adopting a new approach to tourism data, and publishing a report on the Top 100 companies in the Cape amongst other initiatives.
The Trade Unit, which promotes our exports and company expansion into the rest of Africa, will focus on the continent, the European Union, North America, and Asia with particular priorities to drive wine sales to Angola and China, and build Halaal export capacity as part of the Province’s Project Khulisa.
The Investment Promotion Team will work across agro-processing, ICT, hotel and real estate development, pharmaceuticals and medical services, manufacturing, and oil and gas sectors in the coming year. They will also continue their collaboration with GreenCape in the clean energy space.
The Destination Marketing team at Wesgro, made of up Leisure Tourism and the Convention Bureau, will continue to promote niche activities like cycle, gastronomy and culture and heritage in line with Project Khulisa, and maintain Cape Town’s position as the leading business tourism destination in Africa by attracting more business events.
Bold plans from Wesgro’s Film, Marketing and Air Access teams were also announced, as well as the launch of the new Cape Investor Centre, scheduled for the second half of 2017.
Minister Winde concluded: “The brand of the Western Cape is growing tremendously, and we have made major progress in Project Khulisa’s focus areas. Boosted by the success of Cape Town Air Access, international arrivals are up by 30%. In oil and gas, we’ve seen strong interest into the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone with 34 investors in the pipeline. In the year ahead, we will also be working with Wesgro to promote our competitive agri-processing products, such as our wine and Halaal produce, to new international markets. Wesgro’s Global Economic Priorities for the Cape publication outlines these and other projects, as well as investment opportunities. I believe this publication will be useful to potential investors at home and abroad.”
Wesgro’s Global Economic Priorities for the Cape is available via the download link at the top of this page.