Netherlands FDI mission
Representing the IP Unit in Amsterdam is Tech and Manufacturing Portfolio Manager, Rori Tabane.
Tabane is scheduled to meet with up to 21 CEO’s and Managing Directors in the tech and manufacturing sector over her five day trip to market.
Amongst the 21 engagements scheduled, are meetings with: I Amsterdam - the Tech Investment Promotion Company for Amsterdam, the Economic Development Department of Digital Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Sector Focus.
Investment relations between South Africa and the Netherlands remain strong, with 58 FDI projects recorded from Netherlands into the Western Cape between 2003 to August 2018. These projects represented a total capital investment of USD2.56bn, which equated to an average investment of USD USD44.10m per project. The investments contributed to the creation of 4 287 jobs locally.
Following the launch of the digitally-led international investor confidence marketing campaign by Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town and Wesgro – it was identified that the Netherlands is one of the Cape’s six top investment source-markets.
Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, commented: “With investment identified as a key economic enabler on a national level, it is vital that we seek to boost and encourage investment from already interested markets on a provincial level. The Western Cape is a top business destination, and an economic powerhouse on the African continent - shoring up investor confidence has been a key priority for the Agency this past year, and will continue to be high on the agenda in the New Year.”
India FDI Mission
With niche markets such as herbal tea and ostrich meat predicted to find a burgeoning audience among health-conscious consumers in the Indian market, Wesgro’s Head of Agribusiness, Amanda Tshaya will be in market over the coming week and is scheduled to host engagements in both Chandigarh and Bangalore.
For the past three days, Tshaya has been attending the Premier Agri and Food Technology Fair in Chandigarh.
Since its inception in 1994, the event has been the flagship Agri fair of the Confederate of Indian Industry, providing an ideal interaction platform between farm producers and the Agro Industry by creating linkages for value creation and value addition. The exhibition offers varied business opportunities to the technology holders as well as practical learning to the technology users.
Forming part of the Fair’s programme is the Africa Seminar Series, where Tshaya presented on the Western Cape’s Agri sector.
“Currently employing 191 000 people in the province, it is important that we continue to strengthen our Agri sector by shoring up investment interest in foreign markets and creating more job opportunities,” commented Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris.
Minister of Economic Opportunities, Beverley Schäfer, added: "The Western Cape government together with Wesgro has been working hard this year to promote the province as an investment destination and we hope that in these final two missions, we will be able to show investors in India and the Netherlands just how much the Western Cape has to offer. Investment is key to growing our economy and ensuring that the province can continue to create jobs for its residents."
Dan Plato, Executive Mayor of Cape Town, concluded, “The City of Cape Town understands the immense value of foreign direct investment in terms of the many job creation and skills development opportunities it presents. In order to continue securing these investments we need to continue to promote this city as one with an enabling environment and where businesses are welcomed and able to get started with minimal red tape. International visits such as the one being undertaken this week are part of our strategy to continue growing investment in Cape Town, which will benefit our local communities.”
Wesgro’s Investment Promotion Unit (IPU) is funded by the Western Cape Government's Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town. Forming part of the IPU is the Agribusiness Investment Unit (AIU), funded by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.
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