We are pleased to announce that following the two-day mission in November 2017, 7 export and Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) deals have been signed to the value of R60 million over the next 5 years. This will result in 43 jobs being created in South Africa, and 23 in Namibia.
Our Wesgro Trade team accompanied 20 Western Cape businesses on the mission, and helped arrange meetings with over 150 Namibian companies.
The breakdown of the deals emanating from the mission are as follows:
Export trade deals = R32.5 Million
• Comessa foods
• Styrene Cornices
• Herbal Zone
• Chumile holdings
• Exclusive hospitality Group
• Sakhikhaya
OFDI deals = R28 Million
• Zwinoni entertainment
• Styrene cornices
Namibia is an important economic partner for the Cape, with a strong relationship existing across tourism, trade and investment.
Trade
The Western Cape exported goods to Namibia valued at USD834m in 2016 while imported goods were valued at USD171m. The leading export product to Namibia from the Western Cape was refined petroleum oil valued at USD127m, followed by wine (USD30m). The fastest growing export products were refined petroleum oils (19%) followed by beauty or make-up preparations (8.5%).
Investment:
Between January 2003 and June 2017 a total of 4 FDI projects were recorded from Namibia to South Africa. These projects represent a total capital investment of USD465.3m. During the period, a total of 277 jobs were created. Two of the projects were in Cape Town. Between January 2003 and June 2017 a total of 6 FDI projects were recorded from Western Cape to Namibia. These projects represent a total capital investment of USD266.5m. During the period, a total of 751 jobs were created. The main sectors receiving FDI were financial services; business services; machines & equipment; consumer products; metals and beverages.
Tourism:
The number of Namibian arrivals into South Africa increased by 1% in 2016 to reach 214,664 arrivals, the number of arrivals to the Western Cape increased by 16% to reach 114,723.
Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris said: “Boosting trade with the rest of Africa is Wesgro’s top priority. Over the next few decades, Africa will emerge as the biggest market in the world. Cape Town and the Western Cape are well positioned to be a gateway to these exciting opportunities. These deals demonstrate this point yet again.”
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