Cape Town and the Western Cape is excited by the announcement that the major multinational corporation, PepsiCo, has entered into an agreement to acquire the Cape headquartered Pioneer Foods Group with an investment of R24bn.
“This major agreement between PepsiCo and the Western Cape headquartered Pioneer Foods is a vote of confidence in the Food and Beverage Sector of the Western Cape and South Africa, and demonstrates clearly that we are the key springboard into the rest of Africa,” said Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris.
Wesgro, Cape Town and the Western Cape’s Official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, is proud to have worked with Pioneer Foods, assisting them with accessing opportunities on the continent and the world, through our International Trade team.
“As the Cape’s official trade promotion agency, we have been mandated by our government partners to facilitate outward foreign direct investment into the rest of Africa, positioning the Western Cape as a global headquarter for operations on the continent. This agreement shows that this is an attractive option for major global companies,” added Harris.
Western Cape Minister for Finance and Economic Opportunities, MEC David Maynier, added: “The Western Cape exported over $US33 billion worth of goods globally, with the rest of Africa being the single biggest market for these goods. In fact, 7 of our top 15 export markets are countries in Africa. The future growth of the Western Cape’s economy is increasingly linked to accessing and leveraging the remarkable opportunities emerging on our continent. This deal demonstrates that the rest of the world is noticing this, and we encourage other global companies to follow suite, and come and base their operations in the Western Cape.”
Research conducted by Wesgro’s IQ unit, on behalf of the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government, found that the Food and Beverages sector made up almost a third of all the Western Cape’s outward investment into the rest of Africa between 2008 and 2018.
Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, said this is precisely why Cape Town is the “go-to-City” in Africa. “Wesgro’s research, which we launched this month, found that over half of all companies surveyed on their Africa Strategy said that Cape Town was the best or one of the best cities for doing business on the continent. Moreover, three quarters of respondents ranked demand for their product, as a top reason for exporting into the African market. It is clear Cape Town is well-positioned to be a springboard to access these opportunities, and we look forward to many more investments of this magnitude in the future.”
