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WESTERN CAPE<br />
BUSINESS<br />
THE GUIDE TO BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT<br />
IN THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE<br />
<strong>2022</strong> EDITION<br />
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WWW.GLOBALAFRICANETWORK.COM | WWW.WESTERNCAPEBUSINESS.CO.ZA
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ORIGINS TO GLOBAL<br />
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Where Opportunity Meets <br />
The <strong>Cape</strong> Chamber is the voice of business in the region, a role it has<br />
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THE GUIDE TO BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT<br />
IN THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE<br />
CONTENTS<br />
CONTENTS<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Edition<br />
Introduction<br />
Foreword 5<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> is a unique guide to business, tourism and<br />
investment in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
Special features<br />
A regional overview of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> 6<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s new stock exchange is based on smart technology,<br />
something the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is rapidly becoming famous for. Special<br />
Economic Zones at Atlantis and Saldanha aim to tap into growing<br />
markets – maritime, oil and gas and renewable technologies.<br />
Bio-pharmaceutical company lands<br />
Covid vaccine contract 18<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is a centre of medical innovation.<br />
Economic sectors<br />
Agriculture 24<br />
Rooibos is now a protected asset.<br />
Oil and gas 26<br />
A maritime cluster will help to create focus in the energy sector.<br />
Energy 34<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone is attracting<br />
Greentech investors.<br />
Manufacturing 36<br />
Boatbuilders are busy.<br />
Construction and property 37<br />
An affordable housing scheme in Ottery will reduce<br />
the housing backlog.<br />
Tourism 38<br />
Covid-19 waves are causing uncertainty.<br />
Education and training 40<br />
Online schools are booming.<br />
Banking and financial services 44<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town has a stock exchange again.<br />
Development finance<br />
and SMME support 46<br />
Craft designers are preparing<br />
for US markets.<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Process Outsourcing 47<br />
BPO growth is bolstering employment.<br />
References<br />
Key sector contents 22<br />
Overviews of the main economic<br />
sectors of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
Index 48<br />
WESTERN CAPE<br />
BUSINESS<br />
JOIN US ONLINE<br />
<strong>2022</strong> EDITION<br />
WWW.GLOBALAFRICANETWORK.COM | WWW.WESTERNCAPEBUSINESS.CO.ZA<br />
ABOUT THE COVER:<br />
Top left and then clockwise to<br />
centre: <strong>Cape</strong> Town Stadium<br />
from Lion’s Head (Jean van<br />
der Meulen from Pexels); Black<br />
grapes (Kai-Chieh Chan from<br />
Pexels); A wind farm north of<br />
Touws River (Perdekraal East<br />
Wind Farm); Franschhoek<br />
(BrandSA); Rescue boat in action<br />
(Gemini Marine); Protea in bloom<br />
(David Clode on Unsplash);<br />
Beach huts at Muizenberg<br />
(A Gorman Photography).
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong><br />
A unique guide to business and investment in <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
FOREWORD<br />
Credits<br />
Publishing director:<br />
Chris Whales<br />
Editor: John Young<br />
Managing director: Clive During<br />
Online editor: Christoff Scholtz<br />
Designer: Simon Lewis<br />
Production: Aneeqah Solomon<br />
Ad sales:<br />
Gavin van der Merwe<br />
Sam Oliver<br />
Jeremy Petersen<br />
Gabriel Venter<br />
Vanessa Wallace<br />
Shiko Diala<br />
Administration & accounts:<br />
Charlene Steynberg<br />
Kathy Wootton<br />
Distribution and circulation<br />
manager: Edward MacDonald<br />
Printing: FA Print<br />
The 2021 edition of <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> is the 14th issue of this<br />
highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2005, has<br />
established itself as the premier business and investment guide<br />
for the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> has several investment and business opportunities.<br />
In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the<br />
key economic sectors of the province, a special feature on thriving<br />
agricultural exports gives insight into the details of what fruits and wines<br />
go where. An interview with the Port Manager of the Port of <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
provides more understanding of the scale of the logistics operation that<br />
is a major port. Another special feature examines the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
as a national headquarters for the thriving asset management sector.<br />
The cover picture reflects an exciting new find of gas condensate off<br />
the south-eastern coast, a potential game-changer for the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong><br />
and South African economies. This new development is covered in the<br />
overview of the oil and gas sector.<br />
To complement the extensive local, national and international<br />
distribution of the print edition, the full content can also be viewed<br />
online at www.westerncapebusiness.co.za. Updated information on<br />
the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is also available through our monthly e-newsletter,<br />
which you can subscribe to online at www.gan.co.za, in addition to our<br />
complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces<br />
as well as our flagship South African <strong>Business</strong> title and the new addition to<br />
our list of publications, African <strong>Business</strong>, which was launched in 2020. ■<br />
Chris Whales<br />
Publisher, Global Africa Network Media | Email: chris@gan.co.za<br />
DISTRIBUTION<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> is distributed internationally on outgoing<br />
and incoming trade missions, through trade and investment<br />
agencies; to foreign offices in South Africa’s main trading<br />
partners around the world; at top national and international<br />
events; through the offices of foreign representatives in<br />
South Africa; as well as nationally and regionally via chambers<br />
of commerce, tourism offices, airport lounges, provincial<br />
government departments, municipalities and companies.<br />
Member of the Audit Bureau<br />
of Circulations<br />
COPYRIGHT | <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> is an independent publication<br />
published by Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd. Full copyright to<br />
the publication vests with Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd. No<br />
part of the publication may be reproduced in any form without the<br />
written permission of Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd.<br />
PHOTO CREDITS | Amdec Group; Dimzique Jewellery; Eskom;<br />
Gestamp Renewable Industries; Hayden Cobra; Newmark Hotels;<br />
iContact BPO; Impulse Biomedical; studioMAS; Petroleum Agency SA;<br />
Saldanha Bay IDZ; SA Rooibos Council; Stellenbosch University; The Big<br />
Picture Company; The Woodstock Exchange.<br />
PUBLISHED BY<br />
Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd<br />
Company Registration No: 2004/004982/07<br />
Directors: Clive During, Chris Whales<br />
Physical address: 28 Main Road, Rondebosch 7700<br />
Postal address: PO Box 292, Newlands 7701<br />
Tel: +27 21 657 6200 | Fax: +27 21 674 6943<br />
Email: info@gan.co.za | Website: www.gan.co.za<br />
ISSN 1816 370X<br />
DISCLAIMER | While the publisher, Global Africa Network Media (Pty)<br />
Ltd, has used all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information<br />
contained in <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> is accurate and up-to-date, the<br />
publishers make no representations as to the accuracy, quality,<br />
timeliness, or completeness of the information. Global Africa Network<br />
will not accept responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a<br />
result of the use of or any reliance placed on such information.<br />
5<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF THE<br />
WESTERN CAPE<br />
The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone is targeting the<br />
marine and oil and gas sectors. Credit: SBIDZ<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s new stock exchange is based on smart technology,<br />
something the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is rapidly becoming famous for. Special<br />
economic zones at Atlantis and Saldanha aim to tap into growing<br />
markets – maritime, oil and gas and renewable technologies.<br />
By John Young<br />
As a way for the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> to show off<br />
its growing reputation as a tech-friendly<br />
destination, the launch of the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town Stock Exchange in August 2021<br />
was an ideal event.<br />
When several new bourses launched in 2017 most<br />
of them put an X in their names and all of them based<br />
themselves in Johannesburg. In 2021, 4AX made the<br />
move south and rebranded as the <strong>Cape</strong> Town Stock<br />
Exchange. Not only does this give the exchange<br />
immediate access to a global brand, but it puts<br />
them at the heart of an area which has been home<br />
to financial institutions for as long as there have been<br />
banks and insurance companies in South Africa.<br />
A more recent trend has seen asset managers<br />
setting up in the <strong>Cape</strong>. Of the 20 finalists named for<br />
the 2020 Morningstar South Africa Fund Awards, 13<br />
have their headquarters in the <strong>Cape</strong>. Seven of the<br />
top 10 managers in the Plexcrown Ratings of 2019<br />
are based in Newlands (MiPlan), Victoria & Alfred<br />
Waterfront (Allan Gray), Claremont (Coronation),<br />
Bellville (PSG and Boutique CI), Pinelands (Old Mutual)<br />
and Westlake (Prescient).<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town also, according to the Global Financial<br />
Centres Index (GFCI), ranks second in Africa in 2020<br />
(behind Mauritius) in competitiveness as a financial<br />
centre. The ranking is an aggregate of indices<br />
covering five things: business environment, financial<br />
sector development, human capital, infrastructure<br />
and reputation. Neighbouring Stellenbosch is<br />
advancing its reputation for technological innovation<br />
and the output of the region’s four universities and<br />
six TVET colleges ensures that the tech sector has the<br />
necessary human capital.<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
6
<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s share of national employment in the<br />
financial sector is about 20% and the contribution to<br />
gross value-added (GVA) is 15%.<br />
More recently, the city has become home to<br />
several financial technology (fintech) incubators:<br />
according to Tracxn there were 173 fintech startups<br />
in <strong>Cape</strong> Town in 2021 and French Tech Labs operates<br />
out of Century City.<br />
There are 22 active incubators and accelerators in<br />
the region which provide networking and marketing<br />
opportunities and links to funders and markets. The<br />
City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town has installed 848km of fibre-optic<br />
cable and the sector supports more than 40 000<br />
jobs with established brands such as Amazon and<br />
Panasonic and startups such as Luno, Yoco, Jumo and<br />
SweepSouth. <strong>Cape</strong> Town hosts more than half of all<br />
startups in South Africa.<br />
Technology has also been embraced by entities<br />
such as the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Department of Agriculture<br />
which graduated its second group of drone pilots in<br />
2021, having trained 13 pilots the year before.<br />
Investment<br />
The province has a dedicated investment agency,<br />
Wesgro. The Investment Promotion Unit of<br />
Wesgro has been working with various regions<br />
within the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> to attract investment<br />
and accelerate exports. Seminars have been held<br />
in the <strong>Cape</strong> Winelands, the West Coast and the<br />
Garden Route.<br />
In recent years, the biggest investments have<br />
been in renewable energy and manufacturing.<br />
Other important sectors are agro-processing,<br />
aviation, business services, education and<br />
training, financial services, real estate, ICT, light<br />
manufacturing, oil and gas, timber, tourism, waste<br />
beneficiation and clean energy.<br />
Encouraging investment in <strong>Cape</strong> Town has been<br />
recognised as something that needs a full-time office<br />
and a strategy. Invest <strong>Cape</strong> Town is an agency of the<br />
city that works to create the best possible conditions<br />
to attract investors. Areas of focus include broadband<br />
access, energy security, the reduction of red tape and<br />
improving air access to the city.<br />
A Red Tape Reduction Unit has been successful<br />
at a provincial level. The plan is to now set up similar<br />
units at municipal level.<br />
The Provincial Government of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong><br />
has announced that it intends creating a portfolio of<br />
investment projects that can attract private finance.<br />
In addition, a commitment has been made to invest<br />
in infrastructure.<br />
Another vehicle for attracting investment is the<br />
creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Industrial<br />
Development Zones (IDZ). Large industrial operations<br />
already exist at Saldanha and the Port of Saldanha Bay<br />
is the portal for the export of South Africa’s iron ore. The<br />
Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) is<br />
becoming a hub for a range of maritime repair activities<br />
and oil rig maintenance and repair.<br />
The National Department of Trade, Industry and<br />
Competition (dtic) and the provincial government<br />
have collectively invested R500-million in core<br />
infrastructure, a lease agreement has been signed<br />
with TNPA, and a phased approach to development<br />
has begun. The SBIDZ fits neatly into two overarching<br />
visions: Operation Phakisa and Project Khulisa,<br />
the targeted growth strategy of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Provincial Government which includes servicing and<br />
repairing of oil rigs as a priority.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is lobbying hard for Saldanha<br />
Bay to be a site for a gas-to-power plant. If a gas plant is<br />
built at Saldanha, then it could be a catalyst for the use<br />
of gas in many other sectors such as manufacturing<br />
and residential.<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) is<br />
attracting investors in the Greentech market. An early<br />
investor in the zone was GRI Towers South Africa, a<br />
wind turbine tower manufacturer. With new renewable<br />
energy projects such as solar parks and wind farms<br />
being rolled out every month, this sector is on a steep<br />
growth path. The conversion by South Africa’s key<br />
markets to electric vehicles will have an effect on the<br />
country’s automotive manufacturers; ASEZ is hoping to<br />
attract the makers of new components for the new age.<br />
Economy<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
Finance, business services and real estate combined<br />
contribute 28% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of<br />
the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>. The financial services and insurance<br />
sector are key components of the economy.<br />
Although agriculture only accounts for 4.3% of<br />
GDP on its own, the sector is responsible for the fruit<br />
and vegetables that contribute to agro-processing<br />
7 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
Green technology and manufacturing for the renewable energy market are the focus of the Atlantis Special<br />
Economic Zone. The large blue building is the premises of early investor, wind turbine tower manufacturer GRI<br />
Towers South Africa. Credit: ASEZ<br />
which accounts for nearly 40% of the province’s<br />
export basket. (Agro-processing accounts for 8.1%<br />
of GDP.) Citrus, wine, apples and pears, grapes,<br />
fruit juice, fruit and nuts and tobacco all appear<br />
in the top 10 of the province’s exports. Seventy<br />
percent of South Africa’s beverage exports come<br />
from the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>. Grapes and wine sales to<br />
Europe remain strong, but the Chinese market is<br />
becoming increasingly important.<br />
The province has a diverse manufacturing<br />
sector ranging from textiles, clothing, footwear,<br />
boatbuilding and furniture to coke and refined<br />
petroleum products. Excluding agro-processing,<br />
other manufacturing makes up 6.9% of GDP.<br />
Energy<br />
The province and the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town are<br />
lobbying national government for a greater role for<br />
municipalities in the generation and distribution of<br />
energy. The potential of renewable energy is being<br />
realised through the national independent power<br />
producer programme and there is a strong lobby to<br />
build a gas-to-energy plant in the province.<br />
The City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town and the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Provincial Government are investing in resilience.<br />
A market intelligence report covering energy,<br />
renewable energy, water and waste was created<br />
by Green<strong>Cape</strong> to map the assets and challenges in<br />
these areas.<br />
In addition to trying to attract green<br />
investment into the province, the province is<br />
working for improved regulations related to smallscale<br />
embedded generation (SSEG). <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
also wants to be able to rent out its infrastructure<br />
to a power producer who can supply a user via<br />
that infrastructure.<br />
Much of this work is done by a unit called<br />
the Sustainability Energy Markets within the<br />
Energy Directorate. Another area of focus for<br />
this group is to investigate energy use by lowincome<br />
households.<br />
The <strong>Cape</strong> Peninsula University of Technology’s<br />
Energy Institute is a leader in research in the<br />
field of electricity. The South African Renewable<br />
Technology Centre (SARETEC) on the Bellville<br />
campus of CPUT offers courses such as Wind<br />
Turbine Service Technician and Solar Photovoltaic<br />
Service Technician and various short courses such<br />
as Bolting Joint Technology.<br />
The Centre for Renewable and Sustainable<br />
Energy Studies is at the University of Stellenbosch<br />
where a new School for Climate Studies has been<br />
launched. The University of <strong>Cape</strong> Town has the<br />
Energy Research Centre and the University of the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is doing research on the possibilities of<br />
hydrogen as an energy source. ■<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
8
INTERVIEW<br />
The perfect destination for<br />
a post-lockdown visit<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> citrus sector has bounced back and is set to break<br />
records while the film industry is showing strong signs.<br />
Agro-processing is a large part of the success story of <strong>Western</strong><br />
<strong>Cape</strong> agriculture. Credit: RFG Foods<br />
Wesgro is the official tourism, trade,<br />
investment and film promotion agency<br />
for <strong>Cape</strong> Town and the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> asked Wesgro<br />
how it is going about tackling the tough new<br />
environment for travel, trade and tourism.<br />
What steps are in place to take the Air Access<br />
programme forward?<br />
The <strong>Cape</strong> Town Air Access project approved its<br />
recovery strategy in June 2020 and this was to ensure<br />
that airlines could return to <strong>Cape</strong> Town as soon as<br />
restrictions were lifted locally and internationally.<br />
Part of the lobbying effort was convincing the South<br />
African government to lift travel restrictions sooner<br />
rather than later, which was successfully done with<br />
a number of industry partners when international<br />
flights resumed in October 2020. The team is now<br />
focussing on making sure all previous airlines return<br />
to <strong>Cape</strong> Town and that routes remain sustainable<br />
through the recovery period.<br />
The project will therefore continue with its<br />
core route development and support strategy of<br />
route retention, route expansion and new route<br />
establishment for <strong>Cape</strong> Town and the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
What are the broader outlines for the rejuvenation<br />
of the tourism sector?<br />
The tourism sector had an incredibly tough time<br />
in 2020 and 2021, and although inbound tourism<br />
numbers are beginning to show a promising increase,<br />
we need to continue to monitor the progress of<br />
the industry. The resumption of activity will come<br />
with its own challenges in terms of maintenance of<br />
top-quality guest experience as well as in terms of<br />
working capital for businesses needing to reopen their<br />
operations after such an extended period of closure.<br />
The assistance of tourism SMMEs through<br />
training and continued red tape reduction is also<br />
key. We need to ensure that our tourism assets are<br />
correctly maintained, and we continue to support<br />
the regional and local tourism offices during this<br />
period of reopening.<br />
Wesgro will continue to promote <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
and the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> as the perfect destination for a<br />
post-lockdown visit.<br />
Did activities continue under lockdown to<br />
encourage trade and investment?<br />
The Wesgro export unit was able to leverage digital<br />
solutions and during the 18-month period from<br />
1 April 2020 – 30 September 2021 was able to<br />
support exporters with:<br />
• 63 virtual/hybrid export education and awareness<br />
networking sessions<br />
• Virtual export training: 10 courses, 216 companies,<br />
70 companies mentored<br />
• 64 virtual/hybrid/in-market export and OFDI<br />
missions to support exporters connecting with<br />
international markets.<br />
Are there priority sectors that Wesgro is targeting?<br />
• Agriculture, agro-processing, agribusiness, furniture<br />
• Manufacturing and value-added products<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
10
A street scene in Afghanistan. Or is that a <strong>Cape</strong> Town street dressed for the fourth season of Homeland? Credit: The Big Picture Company<br />
• Green industries<br />
• Cosmetics, natural ingredients, organic<br />
• Services<br />
• Clothing, textiles, leather, footwear<br />
• Boatbuilding and auxiliary services<br />
• Health tech and medicinal cannabis<br />
• Aerospace and defence<br />
Are some sectors recovering better than others?<br />
The year 2021 saw a remarkable rebound in the<br />
agricultural sector, both in terms of output and<br />
associated export earnings. One of the most<br />
noteworthy success stories has been in the citrus<br />
sector, with the Citrus Growers Association of<br />
Southern Africa (CGA) forecasting that the South<br />
Africa citrus industry would likely break all export<br />
season records with an estimated 158.7-million<br />
cartons in 2021. South Africa exported 146-million<br />
tons of fruit in 2020. If the estimate is reached, it<br />
would represent a third consecutive season of<br />
record export volumes.<br />
Export earnings speak directly to this with citrus fruits<br />
the province’s largest exported product in 2020, with<br />
associated export earnings of R18.8-billion exported in<br />
2020, an increase of 55% on 2019. Apart from a good<br />
grower’s year in 2020, the increase in demand from<br />
this product group globally was supported by the<br />
immune-boosting properties of citrus. Petroleum oils<br />
have traditionally been the province’s largest export<br />
commodity in terms of earnings.<br />
A number of other traditional agricultural<br />
commodities have reported significant growth,<br />
including apples, blueberries, pears and wine.<br />
Is the film sector making a comeback?<br />
According to the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town’s Film<br />
Permit office, film bookings have doubled since<br />
2020. They report that the permits include four<br />
international projects, plus multiple local TV series.<br />
Communications plans for foreign projects are<br />
controlled to help drive audiences to go to cinema<br />
or distribution, and this could be years away from<br />
projects on locations shooting in the province.<br />
Note that our <strong>Cape</strong> Town Film Studios (Wesgro<br />
owns 10%) is fully booked for the next two years.<br />
Wesgro helped to support the amazing projects<br />
that came out of the <strong>Cape</strong> Town International<br />
Animation festival. Animation projects take years of<br />
work and are a great job creator. Many projects in<br />
production and distribution were shared.<br />
A partnership to develop more capacity in<br />
the industry has been announced, with 10 000<br />
learners being identified, 6 000 creatives being<br />
empowered, and 200 jobs being created by a<br />
series of partnerships between Triggerfish and<br />
E4D. As Gavin Watson, the team leader for E4D<br />
noted, the animation industry is attractive to<br />
young people and is growing fast. He also added<br />
that the opportunities for animation extend<br />
outside the traditional film industry, within fields<br />
like advertising, app and web design, architecture,<br />
engineering, gaming, industrial design, medicine,<br />
and the motor industry, not to mention growth<br />
sectors like augmented reality and virtual reality.<br />
Wesgro agrees with this sentiment and looks<br />
forward to further industry gains during <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town’s Africa Games Week in September. ■<br />
11 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
Green technology manufacturers<br />
welcome at Atlantis SEZ<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Development Executive Jarrod Lyons explains how the ASEZ offers a<br />
great location to trade with Africa and to benefit from South Africa’s renewable<br />
energy procurement programme.<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ)<br />
for green technologies is located on the<br />
West Coast of South Africa, in the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town Metro. The zone is dedicated to<br />
manufacturing and provision of services in the<br />
green technology space. Wind turbines, solar<br />
panels, insulation, biofuels, electric vehicles,<br />
materials recycling and green building materials are<br />
examples of green technology that are welcomed.<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone SOC<br />
(ASEZCo) has undertaken over the past few<br />
years to establish itself as a globally-competitive<br />
company operating state-of-the-art infrastructure<br />
in <strong>Cape</strong> Town. The ASEZCo is equipped to assist<br />
both local and foreign investors in landing their<br />
green technology manufacturing investment in a<br />
seamless, well-managed process which eliminates<br />
unnecessary red tape and promotes a fast-tracking<br />
to market.<br />
As a value proposition, the ASEZ offers<br />
Greentech manufacturers benefits from colocation<br />
and clustering. Our partners’ competitive<br />
advantage rests on making more productive use<br />
of inputs, which requires continual innovation. We<br />
achieve this through the Living Lab by providing<br />
our partners with a platform to share knowledge,<br />
resources and outputs in a manner which<br />
promotes profitability through resource efficiency.<br />
Our established partnerships with tertiary<br />
institutions contribute to our ability to provide<br />
our partners with well-curated skills driven<br />
by their needs, as well as the needs of a<br />
transitioning, traditional, coal-based economy<br />
to a green economy.<br />
The ASEZCo has enterprise development<br />
initiatives in place, which provide our partners<br />
with a suitable list of entities from which they<br />
can procure goods and services. Integration<br />
into our Living Lab bodes well for new partners,<br />
as we assist them in identifying collaborative<br />
opportunities with existing partners and<br />
facilitating engagements, which will lead to an<br />
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FOCUS<br />
improvement in the overall triple-bottom-line of all<br />
partners located in the ASEZ.<br />
New partners sought<br />
The <strong>Business</strong> Development Unit of the ASEZCo<br />
has placed a tremendous amount of its marketing<br />
energy in the community-focused communications<br />
and events for the direct benefit of the community.<br />
There comes a time, however, when community<br />
expectations need to be met. This can only be<br />
done through the landing of new and expansion of<br />
existing partners in the ASEZ with the view to create<br />
jobs and employment opportunities for the broader<br />
SMME network in the Atlantis and surrounding areas.<br />
The <strong>Business</strong> Development Unit has taken the<br />
stance of a more commercially-focused entity by<br />
reaching out to specifically targeted investors who<br />
want to benefit from integrating into the Living Lab<br />
of the ASEZ.<br />
The unit benefits from expertise in the green<br />
economy and leverages relationships with<br />
organisations like Wesgro and Green<strong>Cape</strong> to<br />
remain relevant in green economy investment<br />
promotion. With ASEZCo’s comprehensive<br />
understanding of Greentech value chains, the unit<br />
has the ability to identify partners with capabilities<br />
of servicing the needs of the South African and<br />
African Greentech markets.<br />
Servicing the growing African market with<br />
green technologies which contribute to sustainable<br />
infrastructure development is a superb way in<br />
which SEZs can make a difference. The ASEZ for<br />
green technology manufacturing is perfectly suited<br />
to enhance trade opportunities with Africa and the<br />
rest of the globe as it is well located on the southern<br />
tip of Africa close to two ports with capabilities<br />
of landing and exporting bulk goods, as well as<br />
containers filled with sub-components.<br />
With the awarding of 25 projects in Round<br />
5 of the REIPPPP, and the stringent localisation<br />
requirements associated with the REIPPPP, the<br />
ASEZ is well positioned to capitalise on component<br />
manufacturing opportunities to service the IPP<br />
projects recently awarded. The ASEZCo is utilising<br />
this market opportunity to coordinate a collaborative<br />
sales pitch to partners which can establish their<br />
manufacturing facilities in the ASEZ.<br />
This collaborative approach encompasses<br />
InvestSA (the dtic), Wesgro, InvestCT and Green<strong>Cape</strong><br />
and has demonstrated significant success in the<br />
past. We continue to engage with potential partners<br />
with our ASEZ and are adamant that we will achieve<br />
significant success in this regard over the next 12 to<br />
18 months. ■<br />
CONTACT<br />
For additional information on investing in Atlantis<br />
Special Economic Zone and understanding the<br />
Greentech landscape in South Africa, please contact<br />
Jarrod Lyons at jarrod@atlantissez.co.za<br />
13 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
FOCUS<br />
Harnessing the green economy<br />
for growth and increased<br />
job opportunities<br />
The Atlantis SEZ has dedicated Infrastructure and Integrated Ecosystem (IES)<br />
teams. Integrated Ecosystem Executive Ellen Fischat explains how they help to<br />
create shared value.<br />
The IES team, left to right: Christelle Brown, Ellen<br />
Fischat (Integrated Ecosystem Executive), Michael<br />
Webster, Ursula Wellmann, Charlotte Perang and<br />
Florenchia Solomons.<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone<br />
Company (ASEZCo) for green technologies<br />
aims to harness the green economy for<br />
growth and increased job opportunities.<br />
It does this by driving sustainable, socioeconomic<br />
development and job creation, while<br />
positioning itself as a world-class eco-industrial<br />
park through its Living Lab. A Living Lab (LL), in<br />
contrast to a traditional laboratory, operates in a<br />
real-life context with a user-centric approach. The<br />
physical or organisational boundaries of a Living<br />
Lab are defined by purpose, scope and context.<br />
The scope, objectives, activities, resources and<br />
degree of participation and boundaries of a living<br />
laboratory are open for definition by its participants.<br />
These participants consist of multi-disciplinary<br />
stakeholders, from public to private sector, tertiary<br />
to research institutions and most importantly<br />
the local community and civic society. Industries<br />
adopting Living Labs share an approach to finding<br />
innovative solutions to open and real-world<br />
contexts, as opposed to closed laboratory settings.<br />
The task of convening and connecting the<br />
multi-disciplinary stakeholders falls mostly on<br />
the Infrastructure and Integrated Ecosystem<br />
(IES) teams, both supporting the ASEZCo’s<br />
establishment as a resource-efficient, carbonneutral<br />
and socially-inclusive industrial hub.<br />
Through its positioning as this eco-industrial<br />
park the ASEZ aims to attract Greentech investors<br />
who embody the elements and ethos of green<br />
technology manufacturing. It also means bringing<br />
the principles of the green economy into how the<br />
Atlantis SEZ is run and how the utility service needs<br />
of the investors are ultimately met and delivered.<br />
In recent years, purpose has gained<br />
momentum in business. With societal issues on<br />
the rise, government and community resources<br />
are under pressure. And increasingly, consumers<br />
expect organisations to step in and play a greater<br />
role in advancing social or environmental issues.<br />
But, while companies understand the moral<br />
imperative in delivering value for all stakeholders,<br />
a huge opportunity exists in seeing the business<br />
imperative. This can be explained through a simple<br />
but powerful idea: a company’s success and social<br />
progress are interdependent. This is the key<br />
principle of shared value.<br />
Tourism companies can’t thrive if a<br />
pandemic prevents us from travelling. Food<br />
suppliers can’t thrive if extreme weather<br />
events spoil farmers’ crops. Farmers can’t<br />
thrive if supply chains are fragmented. And<br />
communities go hungry when there is limited<br />
access to food supplies. And financial services<br />
can’t thrive amid financial hardship.<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
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FOCUS<br />
In this context, purpose has an important place<br />
within business strategy. When used to its full<br />
potential, it can reach beyond risk mitigation – or<br />
doing no harm – to actually create new value for<br />
business (and society). Shared value is a framework<br />
designed to create business solutions to social and<br />
environmental problems. Put differently, it’s a means<br />
to deliver on your purpose, profitably.<br />
Shared value<br />
The creation of both societal and business value is<br />
integral to shared value.<br />
Societal value comes from vastly improving<br />
the conditions in which we live; advancing health<br />
outcomes, education, employment, financial or<br />
digital inclusion, service access and participation<br />
and/or helping to reduce our impact on the<br />
environment.<br />
Meanwhile, business value can range from<br />
increased revenue or market share to improved<br />
productivity, greater efficiency, reduced costs,<br />
improved quality, a more secure supply chain or a<br />
more skilled or productive workforce.<br />
The principle of striving towards shared value<br />
in our work with the local community, existing<br />
industrialists and new investors is underpinned by<br />
commitment to positive contribution towards the<br />
United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals<br />
(SDG). The SDGs form a blueprint of addressing<br />
global inequities and achieving a more sustainable<br />
future for all.<br />
Working in close collaboration with the<br />
Infrastructure team, the IES team supports<br />
the Atlantis community through skills and<br />
enterprise development, coupled with<br />
community integration. This is done to enable<br />
the Atlantis community, notably its youth, to tap<br />
into increased job opportunities, locally as well<br />
as in the buoyant green economy. Green skills<br />
development and growing technical capabilities<br />
within the community form part of the ASEZCo’s<br />
strategic objectives, aligned to the legislative<br />
requirement of the SEZ Act to grow the regional<br />
economy and drive socio-economic impact. This<br />
includes a range of interventions to support<br />
the skills development pipeline, some starting<br />
at foundational level, going through to school,<br />
college and ultimately at the workplace.<br />
The IES programmes are anchored by<br />
intentional, continuous and wider stakeholder<br />
community engagement, through our Community<br />
Stakeholder Network (CSN). This elected group of<br />
community leaders hail from a variety of sectors,<br />
such as small business and informal traders,<br />
education, youth, women and people with<br />
disabilities, Early Childhood Development, faithbased<br />
and traditional council and cultural groups.<br />
The CSN serves as a conduit for meaningful<br />
communication between the ASEZCo and the<br />
Greater Atlantis Community, therefore ensuring<br />
dialogue between the public and private sector<br />
and the community at large. The principles of<br />
multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration<br />
provide a feeding ground for fostering local<br />
innovation, the co-creation of solutions and a<br />
conducive business environment.<br />
References<br />
https://sharedvalue.org.au/about/shared-value/<br />
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/<br />
sustainable-development-goals/<br />
15 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
MESSAGE<br />
Innovation is the competitive<br />
currency of the future<br />
Jacques Moolman, President of the <strong>Cape</strong> Chamber of Commerce and Industry.<br />
Jacques Moolman<br />
If there is one thing in which<br />
private enterprise and the profit<br />
motive excel above all its other<br />
virtues, it is in its flexibility. Unlike<br />
large institutions and state-owned<br />
enterprises, the private sector’s small,<br />
medium and micro enterprises are<br />
quick to react to market demand<br />
and indeed to all sudden changes.<br />
The Covid-19 pandemic is a case<br />
in point. It demanded swift changes<br />
to operating methods, often making<br />
the difference between survival and<br />
shutting up shop.<br />
The <strong>Cape</strong> Chamber is an example. Its team made a change<br />
to remote working within 24 hours of the first lockdown. It then<br />
concentrated on help and support for its members, ending its first<br />
financial year of the pandemic better off, despite taking a hit from a<br />
depleted customer base.<br />
Now, having made the transition to a new normal, we and<br />
everyone else have to accept that the economy has changed.<br />
The country is essentially bankrupt – financially and morally.<br />
Unemployment, crime and corruption are now permanent<br />
attributes of the country. That means not simply hoping that things<br />
will get better but making sure that we will get better at dealing<br />
with reality.<br />
The Chamber is now better positioned for doing so because<br />
of decisions we made in the years before lockdown. Since we<br />
are not state-sponsored, we were determined to retain our fierce<br />
independence, so we made revenue generation key. That meant a<br />
single-minded concentration on engagement with our customers,<br />
our members.<br />
Because we recognise the competitive currency in the future<br />
will be innovation, we have a mantra at the Chamber, “If no one dies,<br />
the risk is acceptable.”<br />
We also abandoned three-year plans. We set our strategy for two<br />
days ahead. What we are getting good at is planning the strategy<br />
– that’s more than 150 strategy sessions a year – and we get to<br />
monitor and respond to each one. It is this practice of planning that<br />
is invaluable. The plan itself is just the outcome.<br />
Learning is indeed the greatest gift the universe can give us.<br />
As long as we can learn, “We are alive.” That is why I am confident<br />
that the private sector in the <strong>Cape</strong> will bounce back and survive<br />
whatever challenges are presented.<br />
The entrepreneurial spirit in the <strong>Cape</strong> goes back at least 217<br />
years as the Chamber itself proves since it is now entering its 218th<br />
year. That resilience is not unique to us. Nor is innovation.<br />
Both are in the very marrow of the private sector of the province.
WECBOF<br />
makes it happen!<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong><br />
Opportunities Forum (WECBOF)<br />
provides a platform for businesses<br />
to establish and maintain contact with<br />
fellow entrepreneurs; to have access to<br />
opportunities, information and training;<br />
and to have representation on a number<br />
of relevant forums of government and<br />
other associations focussed on growing<br />
and enhancing the commercial sector,<br />
with a specific focus on small, medium,<br />
and micro enterprises (SMMEs).<br />
WECBOF is widely recognised and<br />
respected as a powerful voice for<br />
business in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>; we are a<br />
provincial service organisation with our<br />
focus and attention firmly on the national<br />
and international business pulse.<br />
CALL US TODAY.<br />
+27 21 946 2519<br />
office@wecbof.co.za www.wecbof.co.za<br />
www.facebook.com/wecbof/<br />
@wecbof<br />
A powerful voice for business.<br />
Where entrepreneurs excel.
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
Bio-pharmaceutical company<br />
lands Covid vaccine contract<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is a centre of medical innovation.<br />
Credit: studioMAS<br />
The Biovac building in the <strong>Cape</strong> Town suburb<br />
of Ndabeni is wedged between the railway<br />
line and Alexandra Road. Contributing to<br />
the medical setting are the nearby facilities<br />
of Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital and the Valkenburg<br />
(psychiatric) Hospital.<br />
The bio-pharmaceutical company’s headquarters<br />
are themselves a fine piece of architecture (pictured)<br />
but the number of prefabricated offices lining the<br />
property’s fence suggests that the facility is bursting<br />
at the seams. A contract to produce Covid vaccines<br />
will make Biovac even busier, but there’s a plan in<br />
place to build a new facility, for R2-billion.<br />
Biovac is a joint venture between the state<br />
and the private sector which started in 2003<br />
and now produces more than 15-million doses<br />
of vaccine every year, most of which are in the<br />
paediatric category. An agreement with Pfizer<br />
and BioNTech to produce their vaccines will see<br />
Biovac making 100-million doses of the vaccine<br />
on an annual basis in the final phase. The only<br />
other manufacturer of Covid vaccines in South<br />
Africa is Aspen in Gqeberha, which is making<br />
the Johnson & Johnson product.<br />
Biovac is looking to international development<br />
finance institutions to fund its latest expansion<br />
plan as it believes the facility could ultimately<br />
produce up to 500-million doses annually, which<br />
would open up the African market.<br />
Biovac has a host of partnerships with<br />
academic institutions and other entities. These<br />
include: the University of <strong>Cape</strong> Town, Council for<br />
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), World<br />
Health Organization (WHO), Programme for<br />
Applied Technologies in Health (PATH), Sanofi<br />
Pasteur of France, BioFarma of Indonesia and<br />
Pfizer of USA. More than 320 highly-qualified<br />
people are employed at Biovac.<br />
Innovation<br />
Asthma pumps are wonderful things but what if you<br />
are too weak to squeeze the pump hard enough to<br />
make it work? Enter two UCT Master’s students with a<br />
passion for gadgets, Giancarlo Beukes and Gokul Nair.<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
18
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
They came up with an attachment fitted<br />
over the standard inhaler and they called it The<br />
Easy Squeezy. Since then, the company that the<br />
pair of biomedical engineering and mechanical<br />
engineering graduates created, Impulse<br />
Biomedical, has come up with something the<br />
world badly needs, a reusable auto-injector that<br />
accepts epinephrine cartridge refills and lasts for<br />
five years. They want the long-lasting injector to<br />
retail for about R1 000 as opposed to something<br />
like seven times as much for a twin-pack of<br />
injectors that have a short shelf life.<br />
The pair have won several competitions for<br />
startups and placed a very creditable second at<br />
the Emerging Medical Innovation Competition<br />
at the Design of Medical Devices Conference.<br />
This earned them a full technical and market<br />
evaluation by the Medical Industry Leadership<br />
Institute (MILI), a giant step towards being able<br />
to get into the US market where the tough<br />
approval standards of the US Food and Drug<br />
Administration (FDA) need to be met.<br />
The company is one of several nurtured by UCT’s<br />
Medical Devices Lab and Nair and Beukes have had<br />
support from Research Contracts and Innovation<br />
(RC&I), the university’s office that authorises and<br />
negotiates research contracts with funders.<br />
Stellenbosch University also promotes the<br />
transition of its graduates into the biomedical<br />
world. An example is AzarGen Biotechnologies.<br />
The company’s website lists two lead therapeutic<br />
candidates: a biosimilar version of an anti-cancer<br />
monoclonal antibody and a recombinant human<br />
surfactant protein targeted for various respiratory<br />
disease conditions. AzarGen has also developed<br />
proprietary synthetic DNA promoters for various<br />
expression platform applications in plant-made<br />
pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology and GMOcrop<br />
improvement.<br />
A number of initiatives are supporting this<br />
growing sector. The South African Medical Research<br />
Council (SAMRC) and PATH, a global non-profit<br />
organisation, have teamed up to create the Global<br />
Health Innovation Accelerator (GHIA). Based in <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town, GHIA aims to support the development of<br />
high-impact health innovations such as finding a<br />
way to test for anaemia without drawing blood.<br />
PATH is supported by the Bill & Melinda<br />
Gates Foundation. Thinta Diagnostics, which<br />
focusses on non-invasive medical diagnostics, is a<br />
company that received seed funding from PATH.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Medical Devices Cluster<br />
is a grouping recognised and funded by the<br />
Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s<br />
Cluster Development Programme (CDP).<br />
According to Wesgro, 93% of medical device<br />
products are currently imported.<br />
The cluster was founded in 2016 with the<br />
assistance of several bodies: Wesgro, the <strong>Western</strong><br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Department of Economic Development<br />
and Tourism, the National Department of<br />
Science and Innovation and Kaiser Economic<br />
Development Partners. The cluster is the first of<br />
its kind in the province.<br />
Several companies are engaging in cuttingedge<br />
work. Research on radiation treatment of<br />
cancer using Gold Nano particles is happening at<br />
iThemba LABS, a National Research Foundation<br />
facility. In 2017, iThemba LABS celebrated three<br />
decades of operating the Separated Sector<br />
Cyclotron (SSC). The SSC produces acceleratorbased<br />
radiopharmaceuticals and enables the<br />
study of the internal structure of atomic nuclei.<br />
Real World Diagnostics makes rapid In Vitro<br />
Diagnostics (IVD) test kits for drugs, pregnancy,<br />
malaria and HIV in Brackenfell. The Real World<br />
Development Service does research and<br />
development and feasibility studies.<br />
A cheap plastic heart valve was developed<br />
by the Christiaan Barnard Cardiothoracic Surgery<br />
Department of UCT and the company making<br />
the valves is Strait Access Technologies, with<br />
headquarters in Observatory. The valve is inserted<br />
through a small incision and travels into position<br />
propelled by a balloon. It will assist millions of<br />
people with rheumatic heart disease. ■<br />
The ZiBiPen. Credit: Impulse Biomed<br />
19 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
KEY SECTORS<br />
Overviews of the main economic<br />
sectors of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Agriculture 24<br />
Oil and gas 26<br />
Energy 34<br />
Manufacturing 36<br />
Construction and property 37<br />
Tourism 38<br />
Education and training 40<br />
Banking and financial services 44<br />
Development finance and SMME support 46<br />
<strong>Business</strong> process outsourcing 47<br />
It has been a long winter. One of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s strongest growth industries is film and animation. Covid-19 meant less travel for<br />
international film crews in search of a wide variety of plausible locations, but <strong>Cape</strong> Town could still easily be mistaken for New York, even<br />
if the snow had to created by a machine. Credit: The Big Picture Company
OVERVIEW<br />
Agriculture<br />
Rooibos is now a protected asset.<br />
The long battle for protected status for rooibos in the EU is<br />
over. The best-known products that are forever linked to<br />
their home regions are champagne and port, and France<br />
and Portugal have fought hard for those rights. Now the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s herbal tea product (pictured) enjoys the same<br />
privileges, which is great news for the roughly 450 farmers working<br />
with rooibos (350 commercial plus 100 small-scale farmers). The<br />
sector produces about 15 00 tons of rooibos every year, about half<br />
of which is exported.<br />
Covid-19 increased the international demand for citrus, resulting<br />
in 146-million cartons being exported in 2020. In 2021, new records<br />
were set with more than 161-million cartons being shipped, mostly<br />
out of the Port of <strong>Cape</strong> Town. Assessed independently from the<br />
country, the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of<br />
citrus fruits. Oranges are the province’s number one citrus export<br />
(54% in 2017) and soft citrus (19%) is growing steadily. Europe<br />
remains the most important market but the Asia and Oceana markets<br />
are growing.<br />
Exporters were introduced to some digital innovation in 2020 in<br />
the form of the <strong>Cape</strong> Export Network. CEN, a joint initiative of the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Provincial Government, Wesgro and Wines of South<br />
Africa (WoSA), is a platform that connects wine producers, buyers<br />
and importers.<br />
Agribusiness and agro-processing are vital parts of the provincial<br />
economy with about 45% of South Africa’s agricultural exports<br />
moving through the province. The value-add in the sector amounts<br />
to more than R14-billion per annum (Invest <strong>Cape</strong> Town).<br />
Berries are a growing subsector and two-thirds of production<br />
occurs in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>. More than 70% of the crop is exported<br />
and the major production companies are Berryworld South Africa,<br />
United Exports and Haygrove SA. Berries thrive between George and<br />
Swellendam and sales of chippers have grown because blueberries<br />
have to be vigorously pruned.<br />
There is plenty of scope for exports to grow. Current annual<br />
exports are 13 500t compared to over 200 000t for table grapes<br />
and about 300 000t for apples (South African Berry Producers’<br />
Association). Once producers pass muster with Chinese import<br />
authorities, volumes can be expected to grow.<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Citrus Growers’ Association: www.cga.co.za<br />
South African Rooibos Council: www.sarooibos.co.za<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Department of Agriculture: www.elsenburg.com<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Citrus was exported in<br />
record quantities.<br />
Credit: SA Rooibos Council<br />
The Covid-19 lockdown had<br />
a big impact on wine exports<br />
and not only because a liquorexport<br />
ban was in place for five<br />
weeks. Logistics at the Port of<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town were reduced to a<br />
crawl and with fresh fruit and<br />
vital supplies taking priority,<br />
wine exporters were at the back<br />
of the queue.<br />
South Africa produces about<br />
4% of the world’s wine. The wine<br />
industry contributes R36-billion<br />
to the country’s gross domestic<br />
product (GDP) and employs<br />
nearly 290 000 people. ■<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
24
The future of smart farming in South Africa<br />
Standard Bank is looking at how data can better inform financing options.<br />
Fredox Carvalho from Pexels<br />
Technology has completely transformed<br />
agriculture over the last few decades. These<br />
days, farmers are integrating everything<br />
from drones and satellite sensing to<br />
genetic modification and, more recently, Artificial<br />
Intelligence into their operations to reduce costs<br />
and enhance yield.<br />
In the South African context, a dualistic agricultural<br />
economy exists with highly-developed commercial<br />
players on the one side and those that practice<br />
farming for subsistence purposes on the other. This<br />
differs from other regions across the continent where<br />
there is a greater focus on small-scale producers.<br />
Therefore, a fair amount of technology has already<br />
been successfully applied in South Africa, specifically<br />
within the commercial sector. The implementation<br />
of smart farming technologies over the years has<br />
helped farmers and growers to achieve the highest<br />
potential in whichever farming activity they choose<br />
to undertake.<br />
South African farmers now apply everything from<br />
regenerative agriculture – which relates to the use<br />
of smart technologies to improve efficiency – right<br />
through to gene technology. The use of the latter<br />
has showed great results in increasing yields with<br />
genetically modified maize production now making<br />
up about 80% to 90% of the total.<br />
The more recent introduction of AI is also significantly<br />
increasing not just the quantity but the quality of<br />
produce that we see on our supermarket shelves.<br />
Standard Bank recently financed a citrus producer<br />
that is now using robotics in its packhouse. This has<br />
greatly reduced the time that is used to pack the<br />
oranges. The use of robotics and camera technologies<br />
has also been applied in the packing and producing<br />
of eggs to identify “bad eggs” in the process.<br />
The role of technology and data in finance<br />
In the old days, a farmer’s banking partner would<br />
be one of the institutions that sat at the end of<br />
information chain regarding the crop, while the<br />
supplier of pesticides might be closer to what is<br />
happening at any given time. It was only when the<br />
client started repaying loan facilities that there would<br />
be some indication of a shortfall, or any indication of<br />
a problem of some sort.<br />
Standard Bank is currently assessing the extent to<br />
which we can better track and trace the development<br />
of a crop over a period. We could then identify a<br />
possible early intervention or a requirement to do<br />
something differently where something might be<br />
going wrong with a crop. It might be that some<br />
additional treatment was needed for that crop. If<br />
that was the case, the bank would know about it<br />
and would be in a position to finance the remedial<br />
treatment when it’s needed. ■
Oil and gas<br />
A maritime cluster will help to create focus in the energy sector.<br />
The Mossgas facility at Mossel Bay could be revived if feedstock in the form of gas is delivered from new discoveries. Credit: PASA<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Maritime Cluster has been established by<br />
private companies and is supported by the government<br />
of the Netherlands and the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Department of<br />
Economic Development and Tourism.<br />
The group is planning to strengthen the industry by focussing on<br />
an integrated approach. Regional steering committees for Saldanha<br />
Bay on the west coast and Mossel Bay on the east coast have been<br />
set up. There are nine focus areas for the cluster, including energy<br />
(offshore), logistics and shipping, marine services and metal and<br />
machine-working (shipbuilding, marine equipment).<br />
The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone Licensing<br />
Company (SBIDZ-LC) has announced the start of phase one of the<br />
development of the main infrastructure of the IDZ. Located within<br />
the southern hemisphere’s deepest and biggest natural port, the<br />
company will spend R3.5-billion on developing 356ha of space to<br />
enable the port to offer a wider variety of services. A floating dock,<br />
ship-lift facilities and marine service jetties will be among the new<br />
services created.<br />
Ultimately, the seven-part development plan will see the SBIDZ<br />
become a South African Freeport, a Special Economic Zone and<br />
customs-controlled area within a port, dedicated to the oil, gas and<br />
marine sector. The three main exploration and production customer<br />
groups being targeted are:<br />
Drilling companies: Office space, warehousing, logistical facilities and<br />
support services.<br />
Petroleum companies: Office and warehousing space for an<br />
operational base close to active fields.<br />
Oilfield service companies: 24-hour operational nodes along the<br />
coast, in the form of office spaces and warehousing bases. In sites<br />
such as Offshore Supply Bases [OSSBs] and/or quaysides for supply<br />
and re-fuelling purpose.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
R3.5-billion is to be spent on the<br />
first phase of the Saldanha Bay<br />
Industrial Development Zone.<br />
The SBIDZ-LC has established<br />
the Saldanha Bay Innovation<br />
Campus which aims to promote<br />
collaboration between academic<br />
institutions, industry, government<br />
and the local community specific<br />
to marine and energy research,<br />
development and innovation.<br />
It also intends supporting<br />
entrepreneurs and new ventures<br />
through incubation and<br />
acceleration programmes.<br />
In 2019 Total and its<br />
partners created a stir with<br />
the announcement that gas<br />
condensate had been found at<br />
a site called Brulpadda off the<br />
coast of Mossel Bay. In 2020,<br />
the nearby Luiperd prospect in<br />
Block 11B/12B delivered more<br />
exciting news.<br />
The block, in the Outeniqua<br />
Basin 175km off the southern<br />
coast, covers an area of about<br />
19 000km². The exploration<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
26
OVERVIEW<br />
was done by the semi-submersible rig Deepsea Stavanger, which<br />
journeyed twice from Norway to lead the exploration projects.<br />
The two finds raise the odds of Total investing in what it calls<br />
a “world-class” offshore gas site. The drilling campaign employed<br />
195 South Africans with specialist skills but the potential spinoff is<br />
enormous for the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> and South Africa, if the find leads to<br />
drilling and commercialisation.<br />
If Total goes ahead, the PetroSA GTL refinery at Mossel Bay<br />
(Mossgas) could be revived and the idea of creating a gas market in<br />
South Africa would get a massive boost. Commissioned in 1992 as the<br />
world’s first gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery, Mossgas was due to close in<br />
2020, because, as President Ramaphosa announced, it had practically<br />
run out of feedstock. PetroSA is South Africa’s national oil company.<br />
Petroleum Agency SA (PASA), which encourages exploration<br />
and regulates the oil and gas industry, has noted the significance<br />
of international oil companies committing to exploration off South<br />
Africa’s coast. Increased confidence by such companies can only<br />
lead to growth in the industry, and with the massive gas finds in<br />
the Rovuma Basin off Mozambique in 2020, there are sure to be<br />
more companies interested in South Africa’s potential. In addition<br />
to adjudicating on coastal fields, the agency has awarded coalbedmethane-gas<br />
exploration rights in KwaZulu-Natal and natural gas<br />
exploration permits in the Free State.<br />
Natural gas lies also lies offshore to the west of South Africa in the<br />
Atlantic Ocean (Ibhubesi). Block 2A of the Ibhubesi gas field northwest<br />
of Saldanha is estimated to have reserves of 850-billion cubic<br />
feet of gas.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s status as an oil and gas hub has been<br />
enhanced with the opening of an open-access liquefied petroleum<br />
gas (LPG) import and storage terminal at Saldanha Bay.<br />
Oil<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s oil refinery changed hands in 2018 when Off The Shelf<br />
Investments (OTS) completed a $973-million purchase of Chevron’s<br />
downstream assets in South Africa. Chevron has been rebranded as<br />
Astron, but the Caltex service-station brand has been retained. OTS<br />
is the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partner of mining giant<br />
Glencore, who financed the deal.<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Petroleum Agency South Africa: www.petroleumagencysa.com<br />
Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone: www.sbidz.co.za<br />
South African Oil and Gas Alliance: www.saoga.org.za<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Maritime Cluster: wcmc.org.za<br />
The refinery in Milnerton<br />
produces petrol, diesel, jet<br />
fuel and liquefied gas for the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> and for export<br />
to other African countries. The<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> spends R76-<br />
billion annually on crude oil<br />
imports and exports refined<br />
petroleum to the value of<br />
R13.2-billion.<br />
Large quantities of oil are<br />
transported around the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
of Good Hope every year:<br />
32.2% of West Africa’s oil and<br />
23.7% of oil emanating from<br />
the Middle East. Problems<br />
in the container ship market<br />
have caused some stress<br />
in the local sector but the<br />
long-term prospects for<br />
shipping and oil and gas<br />
are still strong enough for<br />
national government to<br />
pursue Operation Phakisa<br />
(which includes a strong<br />
maritime economy push) and<br />
for Transnet National Ports<br />
Authority to spend heavily on<br />
upgrading the nation’s ports.<br />
The Bergun terminal,<br />
comprising 12 tanks located on<br />
the Eastern Mole of the Port of<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town, has added to the<br />
port’s fuel storage capacity and<br />
is connected by pipeline to the<br />
Astron refinery.<br />
The Council for Geoscience<br />
(CGS) is doing an intensive<br />
study of South Africa’s potential<br />
shale gas resources in the Karoo<br />
area around Beaufort West and<br />
the report is expected to be<br />
released in <strong>2022</strong>. The major<br />
economic sectors using gas<br />
are the metals sector and the<br />
chemical, pulp and paper sector.<br />
Brick and glass manufacturers<br />
are also big consumers. ■<br />
27 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
FOCUS<br />
Massive offshore gas finds<br />
could put South Africa on<br />
the path to net zero<br />
Gas has the ability to boost the national economy and to<br />
help the country make a just transition towards cleaner<br />
energy, argues PASA CEO Dr Phindile Masangane.<br />
Today the biggest threat to humanity is<br />
climate change and the biggest threat to<br />
South Africa’s social stability is the high<br />
unemployment rate, which has primarily<br />
been caused by economic stagnation.<br />
As the global economy recovers from the<br />
devastating effects of Covid-19, demand for oil and<br />
gas has gone up significantly. If there was ever a<br />
need for proof that oil and gas still drive the global<br />
economy, recent statistics demonstrate the trend.<br />
The world’s developed economies<br />
industrialised on the back of oil and gas production<br />
and use. Now, just as Africa is on the cusp of being<br />
a significant gas producer and is making plans to<br />
use such gas for power generation, industrialisation<br />
and economic growth, the negative effect of<br />
greenhouse gas emissions on the environment has<br />
become undeniable.<br />
The urgency for action to mitigate the risk of<br />
climate change is no longer debatable. Between<br />
1990 and 2018 the top five emitters have<br />
produced more than 50% of greenhouse gas<br />
emissions. During the same period South Africa has<br />
contributed 1% to global emissions. This is by no<br />
measure insignificant, and as a responsible global<br />
citizen South Africa must take steps to reduce its<br />
carbon footprint.<br />
The UN Framework Convention on Climate<br />
Change was established in 1992 to coordinate the<br />
global response to mitigate the threat of climate<br />
change, and specifically to get countries to commit<br />
to policies and plans that will ensure that the<br />
average global temperature rise is kept less than<br />
1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.<br />
The International Energy Agency (IEA) proposes<br />
that to achieve this goal the world’s energy sector<br />
must reach net zero emissions by 2050. In its<br />
global energy net zero 2050 pathway, the IEA<br />
acknowledges that there is no single pathway to<br />
this goal, as developed and developing countries<br />
face different socioeconomic challenges and have<br />
contributed disproportionately to greenhouse gas<br />
emissions to date.<br />
What a number of environmental interest<br />
groups seem to be ignoring in the IEA “Net<br />
Zero by 2050” report is the acknowledgment<br />
that there will be a differentiated approach to<br />
a clean energy future, taking into consideration<br />
the cost of the new clean energy technologies<br />
and the economic consequences of transitioning<br />
for each country. The IEA emphasises that each<br />
country must develop its own pathway to a net<br />
zero emission future.<br />
South Africa’s economy has been predominantly<br />
powered by coal, which is also a significant<br />
contributor to the country’s economy in terms of<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
28
GDP as well as employment. Of all primary energy<br />
resources coal is the most carbon-intensive, and<br />
South Africa therefore has a relatively high carbonintensive<br />
economy, contributing about 1% of annual<br />
global greenhouse gas emissions.<br />
Discoveries in Outeniqua basin<br />
In addition to coal, South Africa imports oil, gas<br />
and petroleum products for its energy needs as the<br />
upstream petroleum industry is still at a nascent<br />
stage. The two recent world-class gas discoveries<br />
in the Outeniqua basin off the south coast of the<br />
country are the biggest petroleum discoveries<br />
made in South Africa.<br />
The development of these discoveries has<br />
the potential to replace more than 2 300MW of<br />
diesel-fired electricity generation in Gourikwa,<br />
Dedisa and Ankerlig, thereby reducing the carbon<br />
emissions from these plants by more than 50%<br />
while eliminating sulphur oxide and nitrogen<br />
oxide emissions, which are also harmful to the<br />
environment. Gas is therefore an obvious bridge to<br />
a lower carbon future in South Africa.<br />
Importantly, these gas discoveries could<br />
restore the gas-to-liquid refinery in Mossel Bay<br />
to full production and profitability, saving about<br />
1 200 direct jobs. A complete shutdown and<br />
abandonment of this refinery would not only lead<br />
to job losses at the refinery, but the effects would<br />
reverberate throughout the town of Mossel Bay<br />
and the Southern <strong>Cape</strong> region, since the refinery<br />
contributes about R2-billion a year, or 26% of the<br />
Mossel Bay economy, and 6% to the Southern <strong>Cape</strong><br />
economy when producing at full capacity.<br />
The Petroleum Agency South Africa awaits<br />
the licensee of these gas discoveries submitting<br />
its production right and environmental<br />
authorisation applications when the exploration<br />
right expires, or earlier. The agency expects the<br />
licensee to use world-class technologies and<br />
standards to minimise the effects of the gas and<br />
gas condensate production on the environment,<br />
while maximising the in-country benefit or local<br />
content from this development to support South<br />
Africa’s economic recovery.<br />
These discoveries could indeed support both<br />
the country’s economic recovery and its transition<br />
to a clean energy future. ■<br />
The Stavanger oil rig has passed <strong>Cape</strong> Point several<br />
times on its way to making discoveries off Mossel Bay.<br />
Credit: Anton Swanepoel<br />
VALUE STATEMENT<br />
Petroleum Agency SA aspires to be a world class<br />
organisation, committed to:<br />
• Professional excellence<br />
• Integrity<br />
• Direct, open, consultative communication<br />
• Transparency<br />
• Respect<br />
• Teamwork<br />
• Active regard for our natural environment<br />
• Corporate social responsibility in an empowering,<br />
vibrant workplace where diversity is valued.<br />
MISSION<br />
To promote, facilitate and regulate exploration and<br />
sustainable development of oil and gas contributing<br />
to energy security in South Africa.<br />
VISION<br />
A diverse upstream industry contributing to energy<br />
security through sustainable growth in exploration<br />
and development of oil and gas.<br />
CONTACT DETAILS<br />
Telephone: +27 21 938 3500<br />
Email: plu@petroleumagencysa.com<br />
Website: www.petroleumagencysa.com<br />
29 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
VIEW<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
A study on gas potential<br />
in the Karoo has<br />
been completed<br />
ding new ways of<br />
ucing and reusing carbon<br />
Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza believes that shale gas could<br />
have a huge impact on the national fiscus and that the marine economy<br />
holds great potential.<br />
What is the status of the exploration for gas in the Karoo?<br />
il for Geoscience CEO, Mosa Mabuza, is excited about new research on<br />
The geo-environmental baseline study for gas in Beaufort<br />
n capture and is intent on expanding West his has organisation’s been completed and relevance the report is to being the written. We<br />
African economy.<br />
had a plan to drill up to 3 500m but we reached technical<br />
limits at 2 978m. We intercepted a huge white hill formation<br />
which is the shale horizon that contains shale gas. Shale is<br />
How will the Council<br />
a geological<br />
for Geoscience<br />
formation and<br />
(CGS)<br />
in that<br />
carbon<br />
there<br />
capture<br />
is gas. Methane<br />
and the<br />
is<br />
present and other forms of gas as well. We have taken a lot of<br />
storage project in Mpumalanga expand South Africa’s energy mix and<br />
samples and they are being analysed.<br />
decrease the country’s It is important carbon to footprint? note that ours was an environmental baseline<br />
We abbreviated study, the not project an economic to CCUS: model. Carbon You can’t Capture do an economic for the model two Cs, from U<br />
for utilisation, storage one hole as but the you last can stage. extract Once information. the carbon It will is give captured you an idea it has of<br />
numerous applications. what is there, Not so only this will would be taken you to be cabinet able to in the reduce course the of carbon <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
content that is emitted into our climate, but you can also apply it in fertiliser<br />
manufacturing What and in is a the number background of other to applications.<br />
this study?<br />
Mosa Mabuza, CEO We see it as In a scientific the 1960s intervention Soekor (the that government-owned gets us as a country exploration to breathe<br />
company) drilled a number of boreholes but they were looking<br />
life into the climate mitigation measures, in terms of the international<br />
for oil, not gas. They took samples for storage to the Council for<br />
climate protocol<br />
Geoscience<br />
that we<br />
and<br />
have<br />
we<br />
committed<br />
have kept them<br />
to.<br />
very<br />
If the<br />
well.<br />
science<br />
We were<br />
is<br />
visited<br />
proven,<br />
by<br />
not only will South an energy Africa geologist meet but from it the will US go just far before beyond 2010 the who minimum had a look<br />
commitments that these we rocks have and made he was a country. very excited. The president announced<br />
BIOGRAPHY<br />
But we’ve got at the to State let the of the science Nation take address place, in 2010 we’ve that got shale to gas let the may pilot be a<br />
project prove that game-changer indeed, it for is a South sensible Africa. scientific intervention, that the<br />
After qualifying as a geologist from<br />
economics make We sense, received that applications science and from the the intentions big gas are companies met. Only but<br />
Wits University, Mosa held various<br />
society revolted. “Don’t frack in my backyard.” At the time I was<br />
positions at De Beers and once Anglo we have proven all of those three attributes, would we be confident<br />
in the Department of Mineral Resources responsible for policy<br />
abuza, CEO American and worked in enough jurisdictions<br />
as varied as West Africa then and coal can continue to play a critical role in our energy mix.<br />
to say that, indeed, we can continue. We think that, if it is proven,<br />
formulation. We started engaging with these communities and<br />
the then minister placed a moratorium on processing of those<br />
Canada. From his appointment as applications and instituted a team of technocrats including<br />
the Director of Mineral Economics Is this pilot at one CGS, site PASA, or CSIR, is it multiple the Department sites? of Science and Technology<br />
in the former Department The of Minerals<br />
and Energy, he was promoted emission to sites environmental in Mpumalanga affairs. where Our brief there was is to a higher engage concentration with communities. of<br />
first one is on at the one time site. and We departments have chosen responsible a pilot very for close water, to energy the major and<br />
APHY<br />
Deputy Director-General of power Mineral stations, as I led well that as process, the Sasol and we plant. engaged If we with get community that right members we can<br />
Policies and (Investment) Promotion have our contribution across many to areas carbon in the pollution Karoo. The reduced biggest by concern between then 60% was<br />
ying as a geologist in 2012. from He has Wits been CEO and of CGS 80%.<br />
that the decision was being taken without a scientific base. I said,<br />
Mosa held since various 2017. positions<br />
“Good shot.” We went back to the minister and said we think that<br />
s and Anglo American and What are the other priorities of the CGS in Mpumalanga?<br />
jurisdictions WESTERN as varied CAPE as BUSINESS The <strong>2022</strong> CGS mandate is that 30 we are the custodians of geoscientific information<br />
a and Canada. From his<br />
ent as the Director of Mineral<br />
and knowledge in the country so we have quite a number of programmes in<br />
Mpumalanga. One of them which is really very exciting and is at an advanced
you will gain trust if you remove the politics and<br />
invest in the science to do the research.<br />
People were concerned about water safety,<br />
a legitimate concern. The second concern was<br />
environmental pollution: what measures are you<br />
going to put in place to secure the environment?<br />
We could not provide answers at that time. While<br />
we were busy developing regulations based on<br />
other jurisdictions that were extracting shale gas as<br />
a benchmark, we did not have anything that was<br />
specific to South Africa, so the CGS was tasked to do<br />
this environmental baseline study.<br />
We needed to characterise shallow groundwater<br />
and establish what it would take to protect the<br />
water in those aquifers in the event that we were to<br />
proceed with shale gas extraction. We now have an<br />
answer to that question.<br />
The second question was, do we have gas? We<br />
have got gas. How much is still to be determined.<br />
Do you have an idea of the volume?<br />
If you look at our balance of payments, I think the<br />
largest chunk of it is the importation of crude oil.<br />
If we have the amount of shale gas that we think<br />
we have, this may have a huge impact on our<br />
national fiscus.<br />
Mossgas was opened on a motivation of one<br />
trillion cubic feet. The original projections in the<br />
Karoo were that we have 490tcf, a figure in which<br />
I don’t have much confidence. But even if we had<br />
20tcf, can you imagine what impact that would have?<br />
What new projects is CGS involved in?<br />
There was a huge excitement around 2013/14 with<br />
announcements being made around Operation<br />
Phakisa and the Blue Economy. This opened our<br />
eyes to a whole frontier economy right under our<br />
noses which we have not exploited optimally. There<br />
is some fishing, we have our ports and there was<br />
some excitement around petroleum exploration<br />
recently, but we have not even begun to look at the<br />
marine prospects.<br />
There is limited geological information so we<br />
have put together a very aggressive plan to map<br />
offshore. We have struck a partnership with the navy<br />
so that we can have a collaboration to leverage<br />
their vessels to fast-track the mapping. While they<br />
are moving around doing their work our gadgets<br />
Drilling for information near Beaufort West. A geoenvironmental<br />
baseline study for gas in the Karoo has<br />
been completed and the report is being compiled.<br />
will be mounted on their boats. That will help us to<br />
accelerate the mapping and help us to catch up.<br />
And you have your own vessel?<br />
We have recently launched one, but it is a small one<br />
that is only to do work near-shore in the interim. We<br />
have named it RV Nkosi after a world-class mineral<br />
separation technician who worked for CGS and who<br />
passed away in 2019. Research Vessel (R/V) Nkosi.<br />
Our team has been collecting data and this<br />
year’s weather has been much better than last year.<br />
I am comfortable with how it is going.<br />
Are there other projects relevant to the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>?<br />
We are looking at numerous things, including geotourism.<br />
There is outstanding geoscience here. Our<br />
31<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
INTERVIEW<br />
decisions for authorities, we<br />
can only come to you and say<br />
Minister, MEC, Your Worship, we<br />
have done this work and here<br />
is what it says and these are the<br />
options that you have. You can’t<br />
just sit on your hands while the<br />
community is in danger.<br />
The borehole cores of the Karoo Supergroup in the<br />
Karoo Deep Drilling site in Beaufort West.<br />
teams are making major discoveries of fossils and<br />
there are fantastic stories to tell. We will take those<br />
stories to the authorities in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> so<br />
that they can think about how to make it part of the<br />
tourism package.<br />
We are also looking at the mineral potential in<br />
the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
Can the council play a role in climate change<br />
mitigation?<br />
One of the things that almost made my heart stop<br />
was when <strong>Cape</strong> Town was heading for “Day Zero”<br />
of water supply. That would have been a national<br />
disaster. With these things you have to work on<br />
them well in advance, outside of the political cloud.<br />
We scientists don’t like that space.<br />
How does geoscience and Day Zero come<br />
together?<br />
We are looking at characterising the aquifers quietly<br />
and understanding them and their potential. Then<br />
we can take information to the water authorities<br />
and the infrastructure authorities. To municipal and<br />
provincial authorities we can say, this is how you can<br />
complement your infrastructure to make it better.<br />
To give people the information they need to<br />
make policy?<br />
To make developmental decisions. Our job is to use<br />
the science as a basis for informed policy and human<br />
development choices. However, we don’t make<br />
What is land susceptibility<br />
mapping?<br />
If we do a study of a stretch of<br />
land today, not when it rains, we<br />
can give a report to authorities<br />
telling them either not to<br />
develop in a particular place,<br />
or if they do, then to make sure to reinforce the<br />
infrastructure in that area. We are also doing work<br />
on tsunami early-warning detection in support of<br />
the Koeberg power station.<br />
We want to characterise any faults and<br />
understand them properly. There is a huge fault<br />
structure that goes over Table Mountain. It can<br />
lie dormant for 100 years, which is a short time in<br />
geological terms, and a fault stretches a long way. If<br />
something happens at a distance it might reactivate<br />
the fault and when it does then our study comes<br />
into play. The affected municipality will know the<br />
risks upfront.<br />
How many staff does CGS have in its<br />
Bellville office?<br />
We have a staff of 35.<br />
The Council for Geoscience runs a variety of<br />
programmes such as testing for air quality and<br />
asbestos residue in soils.<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2021<br />
32
What are their main fields of work?<br />
They work in a wide variety of<br />
disciplines, including geoscience<br />
mapping (onshore and offshore),<br />
palaeontology, geophysics, remote<br />
sensing, economic geology, marine<br />
geoscience and engineering geology.<br />
What potential for mineral discoveries<br />
are being made in the province?<br />
We see potential in industrial<br />
minerals, some precious and critical<br />
minerals and various energy-linked<br />
minerals. These are still being<br />
characterised and evaluated.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> was the site of the launch of the RV Nkosi in 2021.<br />
The Council for Geoscience’s vessel is named after a renowned mineralseparation<br />
technician who passed away in 2019. The project to map the<br />
oceans is in support of the national Blue Economy programme.<br />
How does the brief of the CGS fit into national<br />
priorities?<br />
The Council for Geoscience undertakes activities<br />
of national strategic importance that support<br />
government programmes such as the NDP<br />
2030 (Economy and Employment, Economic<br />
Infrastructure, Inclusive Rural Economy focus<br />
areas), the New Growth Path and the Integrated<br />
Resource Plan, which seek to eradicate poverty,<br />
to promote the creation of employment,<br />
energy security, diversification of the economy,<br />
including the promotion of the green economy<br />
and to promote growth by identifying six<br />
priority sectors focussed on infrastructure<br />
and rebuilding the productive sectors of the<br />
economy, including mining. ■<br />
Pleistocene cliffs along False Bay.
OVERVIEW<br />
Energy<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone is attracting greentech investors.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
The Koeberg nuclear plant’s<br />
steam generators are due for<br />
replacement.<br />
Koeberg nuclear power station. Credit: Eskom<br />
The potential of renewable energy is being realised<br />
through the national independent power producer<br />
programme and there is a strong lobby to build a gas-toenergy<br />
plant in the province.<br />
In September 2018 the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town launched a resilience<br />
assessment, the first step in a larger process. The Rockefeller<br />
Foundation chose the city as one of 100 around the world in which<br />
programmes would be tested to improve the ability of the city to<br />
withstand shocks such as severe droughts. The city wants to expand<br />
the lessons it learnt in the period of water shortage into other areas<br />
such as energy generation and energy efficiency.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Provincial Government is also investing in<br />
resilience. A market intelligence report covering energy, renewable<br />
energy, water and waste was created by Green<strong>Cape</strong> to map the<br />
assets and challenges in these areas.<br />
In addition to trying to attract green investment into the<br />
province, the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is working for improved regulations<br />
related to small-scale embedded generation (SSEG). The City of <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town also wants to be able to rent out its infrastructure to a power<br />
producer who can supply a user via that infrastructure. This is known<br />
as “wheeling”. A start was made with the Darling wind farm, but more<br />
work needs to be done on the legislative framework.<br />
Much of this work is being done by a unit called the Sustainability<br />
Energy Markets within the Energy Directorate. Another area of<br />
focus for this group is to<br />
investigate energy use by lowincome<br />
households. President<br />
Ramaphosa’s announcement in<br />
2021 that companies wanting<br />
to create power plants up to<br />
100MW need no longer apply<br />
for licences will encourage and<br />
accelerate this trend.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is<br />
lobbying hard for the national<br />
Department of Energy to<br />
allow Saldanha Bay to be a site<br />
for a gas-to-power plant. If a<br />
gas plant is built at Saldanha,<br />
then it could be a catalyst for<br />
the use of gas in many other<br />
sectors such as manufacturing<br />
and residential.<br />
The early rounds of<br />
the Renewable Energy<br />
Independent Power Producer<br />
Procurement Programme<br />
(REIPPPP) continue to produce<br />
regular dividends. In October<br />
2020, another wind farm<br />
started commercial operations.<br />
The Paardekraal East Wind<br />
Farm, which is located about<br />
80km north-east of Ceres,<br />
is in the Witzenberg Local<br />
Municipality. The 110MW<br />
project was constructed by the<br />
Concor and Conco Consortium,<br />
Siemens Gamesa Renewable<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
34
OVERVIEW<br />
Energy supplied and installed the wind turbines, the towers were<br />
built by GRI in Atlantis and Mainstream Asset Management South<br />
Africa will manage the operations.<br />
The support of two of South Africa’s biggest institutional<br />
investors, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the<br />
Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has been crucial in getting<br />
the renewable energy sector off the ground. They have also helped<br />
communities fund their participation in community trusts. Typically,<br />
a community trust is established to represent the interest of the<br />
local community.<br />
Investment by black people into the renewable energy<br />
programme is not limited to community trusts. Pele Green<br />
Energy is engaged with a photovoltaic plant at Touwsrivier in the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> as a shareholder and as a provider of construction<br />
management services.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Provincial Government has a four-point<br />
energy plan:<br />
1. Help municipalities to procure energy from IPPs.<br />
2. Increase small-scale embedded generation like solar PV to decrease<br />
reliance on the national grid.<br />
3. Increase the greening of government buildings.<br />
4. Increase efforts to import Liquefied Natural Gas through Saldanha<br />
Bay and enable Eskom’s Ankerlig plant to operate on LNG rather<br />
than diesel.<br />
Recent gas finds by Total off the coast of Mossel Bay will<br />
accelerate the drive to switch to gas.<br />
The idea of home-owners being able to sell surplus electricity<br />
from rooftop solar systems was previously restricted to the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
metropolitan area. The application of the provincial government’s<br />
Energy Security Game Changer has expanded this provision (via<br />
bylaws) to the whole province. There are 19 municipalities where<br />
rooftop solar PVs are connected to the electricity grid, 13 of which<br />
have nationally-approved tariffs in place.<br />
The City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town has signed an agreement with the United<br />
States Agency for International Development and the Southern<br />
Africa Energy Programme to look for ways to make solar PV more<br />
accessible. High costs of installation often preclude residents from<br />
taking the solar PV option for their homes.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> is<br />
positioning itself as a green<br />
business hub and is working<br />
to find energy alternatives for<br />
households and businesses.<br />
Greater <strong>Cape</strong> Town is home<br />
to 70% of South Africa’s<br />
manufacturers of renewable<br />
components.<br />
Green<strong>Cape</strong> is an agency that<br />
does research and runs projects<br />
in areas such as energy efficiency,<br />
waste, water and sustainable<br />
agriculture. It is a joint initiative<br />
of the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town, Wesgro<br />
and the Provincial Government of<br />
the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>.<br />
Green<strong>Cape</strong> states that<br />
nearly R700-million in green<br />
technology investments has<br />
already been attracted to the<br />
Atlantis Special Economic Zone,<br />
creating 300 jobs. A further<br />
R3.7-billion is anticipated by<br />
2030, which will add more than<br />
3 000 new jobs. Spanish wind<br />
tower manufacturer Gestamp<br />
Renewable Industries was an<br />
early investor in the zone.<br />
The Koeberg nuclear power<br />
station 30km north of <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town is South Africa’s, and<br />
Africa’s, only nuclear power<br />
station. The 1 840MW plant is<br />
due to have its steam generators<br />
replaced in <strong>2022</strong>, a necessary<br />
condition for having its licence<br />
extended beyond 2024. It was<br />
commissioned in 1985. ■<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Atlantis Special Economic Zone: www.atlantissez.com<br />
Green<strong>Cape</strong>: www.greencape.co.za<br />
South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre: www.saretec.org.za<br />
South African Wind Energy Association: www.sawea.org.za<br />
35<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
OVERVIEW<br />
Manufacturing<br />
Boatbuilders are busy.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Hayden Cobra cars are on the<br />
road again.<br />
The need for security at sea is driving demand among<br />
boatbuilders. Patrol vessels for the South African Navy<br />
are being produced by Damen Shipyards <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
and Paramount Maritime Holdings is busy with orders for<br />
vessels to protect other ships from pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.<br />
Bloomberg reported in 2021 that the subsidiary of the<br />
Paramount Group was building 26 boats for a combined value<br />
of $60-million. The keel-laying ceremony for the third Multi-<br />
Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) that Damen Shipyards was<br />
contracted to deliver to the Navy was held in October 2021.<br />
Invest <strong>Cape</strong> Town reports that the city’s boatbuilding industry is<br />
the second-largest producer of recreational catamarans in the world,<br />
after France. The city’s companies export 80% of the products that<br />
they produce and attract a positive trade balance of approximately<br />
$73-million annually. Boatbuilding exports have grown by 20.5%<br />
annually year-on-year since 2014 in <strong>Cape</strong> Town (Quantec, 2019).<br />
Robertson & Caine’s facility in Woodstock produces three boats a<br />
week for the international market. With a staff complement of 1 350,<br />
the company is a leader in power catamarans and sailing catamarans.<br />
Nautic Africa makes larger vessels, including patrol, defence, oil and<br />
gas platform and commercial vessels while companies such as Smit<br />
Amandla Marine and De Beers Marine offer a wide range of services. The<br />
Whisper Boat Building Academy is located at the False Bay TVET College.<br />
The Manufacturing and Competitiveness Enhancement<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Clothing and Textile Cluster: www.capeclothingcluster.org.za<br />
Invest <strong>Cape</strong> Town: www.investcapetown.com<br />
Wesgro: www.wesgro.co.za<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Maritime Cluster: www.wcmc.org.za<br />
Programme (MCEP) of the<br />
Department of Trade, Industry<br />
and Competition (the dtic)<br />
has disbursed grants which<br />
have resulted in 230 000 jobs<br />
being sustained. Because<br />
of the Clothing and Textile<br />
Competitiveness Programme,<br />
that sector currently now<br />
employs around 95 000<br />
workers, contributing 8% to<br />
manufacturing GDP and 2.9% to<br />
overall GDP. In the leather sector<br />
22 new factories have been<br />
opened, supporting 2 200 jobs.<br />
In the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>, this<br />
revival is reflected in member<br />
companies of the <strong>Cape</strong> Clothing<br />
and Textile Cluster hiring 35%<br />
more staff in four years. About<br />
23 600 people are employed in<br />
the province and exports from<br />
the <strong>Cape</strong> amounted in 2017 to<br />
R4.4-billion with sales up by<br />
34% above inflation.<br />
A new investor has breathed<br />
new life into the manufacturing<br />
business of Hayden Cobra<br />
(pictured). The maker of<br />
replica cars is operating out<br />
of Montague Gardens and<br />
building for the local and export<br />
markets, primarily the US and<br />
the Middle East. Three models<br />
are manufactured: the Classic<br />
427, the Evo and a Cobra with<br />
an electric drive which promises<br />
“instantaneous torque”. ■<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
36
Construction and property<br />
An affordable housing scheme in Ottery will reduce the housing backlog.<br />
OVERVIEW<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
The Waterfront is<br />
expanding again.<br />
The Amdec Group has been in the headlines in recent<br />
years for large and very expansive projects in highlydesirable<br />
areas. Johannesburg’s top-end Melrose Arch<br />
project was going to be replicated on <strong>Cape</strong> Town’s<br />
Foreshore with the Harbour Arch.<br />
Plans for that development are still going ahead, but the<br />
development group broke ground on a very different kind of<br />
project in 2020, an affordable housing project in Ottery (pictured).<br />
Named the Golden Grove Estate, the R500-million project will<br />
have 1 000 affordable residential apartments available for rent<br />
where the joint household income does not exceed R22 000 per<br />
month. The estate will include a retail centre, communal gardens,<br />
children’s playground, crèche and a communal clubhouse.<br />
The Provincial Government of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s “Better Living<br />
Model” will deliver 3 602 residential units in an affordable, mixeduse<br />
and residential-led development on the site of the old Conradie<br />
Hospital on the edge of Pinelands. The integrated, mixed-income<br />
housing development aims to reverse the spatial planning that was<br />
put in place under apartheid. With the state putting in the bulk<br />
infrastructure, costs for developers are significantly reduced. The<br />
quid pro quo is that the developer must set aside a certain number of<br />
housing units (49%) to grant-funded housing.<br />
The Belhar CBD is the site of 4 188 assorted residential units,<br />
including student accommodation, social housing units and<br />
military veterans’ units. Building was well-advanced in the course<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town Transport and Urban Development Authority:<br />
www.tda.gov.za<br />
Construction Industry Development Board: www.cidb.org.za<br />
SA Institute of Architects: www.saia.org.za<br />
of 2021, despite Covid-19<br />
interruptions. One section of the<br />
development, Paarl Rock, had<br />
sold out by November 2021.<br />
The Victoria & Alfred<br />
Waterfront is continuing to invest<br />
in more space. Owned by the<br />
Public Investment Corporation<br />
and Growthpoint Properties,<br />
plans are being rolled out to add<br />
80 000m² to the available space<br />
within the Waterfront’s precincts.<br />
The Financial Mail reports that<br />
recently completed additions<br />
include new buildings for Ninety<br />
One and Deloitte food market<br />
(Makers Landing). Artists will soon<br />
have their own market too.<br />
FNB, which publishes a regular<br />
property barometer, has done an<br />
in-depth analysis of previous crises<br />
to understand the post-Covid<br />
property market. According to<br />
John Loos, a property strategist<br />
at FNB Commercial Property<br />
Finance, the most vulnerable<br />
sector is likely to be Retail Property.<br />
Smaller neighbourhood shopping<br />
centres, with more essential items<br />
and greater convenience, will be<br />
less vulnerable.<br />
The lockdown accelerated<br />
the trend for people to work<br />
from home, and so the Office<br />
Property sector will come under<br />
pressure. Many companies will<br />
be reducing office space, but<br />
this is merely a speeding up of<br />
an existing trend. ■<br />
37 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
OVERVIEW<br />
Tourism<br />
Covid-19 waves are causing uncertainty.<br />
With uncertainty about exactly who could travel to South<br />
Africa, occupation rates for the 2021/22 season could<br />
not be accurately predicted but everyone agreed that<br />
having a good season would be vital for the health of<br />
the sector. City Lodge Hotels reported 60% occupancy rates over<br />
the Heritage Day long weekend, a signal that domestic tourism was<br />
picking up. December bookings at many of South Africa’s resorts<br />
were good but at the end of November, all signs were that a fourth<br />
wave was descending.<br />
Many tourism operators in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> were pinning their<br />
hopes on the 2021 tour by the British and Irish Lions, but Covid-19<br />
allowed for no spectators or followers. A hoped-for tax benefit to<br />
South Africa of about R450-million did not materialise.<br />
A landmark on the Sea Point boulevard, the Winchester Hotel<br />
(pictured), reopened in 2021 after new owners Newmark spent<br />
R90-million on a major revamp.<br />
Having been built to house residential apartments, what<br />
became Winchester Gardens was famous for its jazz and Sunday<br />
teas. The 76-room hotel is now a luxury boutique hotel.<br />
In 2019, <strong>Cape</strong> Town Tourism projected that the value to the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> of the cruise-ship industry between 2017 and 2027<br />
would be about R220-billion. And then Covid-19 hit.<br />
Major investments have been made in the Cruise Ship Terminal,<br />
near the <strong>Cape</strong> Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and<br />
the <strong>Cape</strong> Town Air Access programme. Air Access created more<br />
than 750 000 new inbound seats between its inception in 2015 and<br />
2020, adding something like R6-billion to the provincial economy. In<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Nature: www.capenature.co.za<br />
Garden Route and Klein Karoo: www.visitgardenrouteandkleinkaroo.com<br />
Wesgro: www.wesgro.co.za<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
The Winchester Hotel<br />
has reopened under new<br />
management.<br />
2019/20 the CTICC secured 52<br />
conferences with an estimated<br />
economic impact of R2.3-billion.<br />
Unfortunately, the<br />
conferences and events sector<br />
is likely to be hit as badly as the<br />
cruise-ship industry.<br />
Following the major<br />
drought experienced by the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>, the Westin<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town has taken steps<br />
to reduce its dependence on<br />
the municipality for water. The<br />
hotel’s position on reclaimed<br />
land in the CTICC precinct of<br />
the Foreshore means that about<br />
1.2-million litres of seawater<br />
have to be taken out of the<br />
basement every day. This water<br />
is converted into 441 000<br />
litres of clean water by reverse<br />
osmosis which saves more than<br />
100-million litres of municipal<br />
water annually. The Westin has<br />
also created an organic roof<br />
garden, from which it supplies<br />
its restaurants with vegetables.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Provincial<br />
Government wants to promote<br />
education in the arts. Based<br />
on research which found that<br />
6% of employment in South<br />
Africa is in the cultural sector,<br />
the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> will expand<br />
the traditional STEM emphasis<br />
to include two additional As:<br />
Arts and Agriculture. There are<br />
60 000 people employed in the<br />
culture sector in the province. ■<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
38
FOCUS<br />
Save our Beach Huts<br />
A campaign is underway to restore <strong>Cape</strong> Town’s<br />
colourful landmarks.<br />
Credit: A Gorman Photography<br />
The Beach Huts of <strong>Cape</strong> Town have been<br />
around since the late 1800s. Over their lifetime<br />
they have changed significantly, eventually<br />
becoming the colourful huts we see today.<br />
They have always been a feature of our beaches.<br />
These structures have risen to iconic status,<br />
outgrowing their practical usefulness. Their true<br />
value lies in being an instantly recognisable image<br />
and arguably South Africa’s most iconic man-made<br />
structures. They occupy a significant portion of<br />
South Africa’s global brand image. The importance<br />
of this for attracting tourism to our country cannot<br />
be overstated.<br />
Tourism, a large source of foreign direct income,<br />
has an important role to play in alleviating poverty<br />
and creating opportunities for all South Africans.<br />
Tourism is everybody’s business.<br />
The Beach Huts have been falling into disrepair<br />
for some time. A harsh environment, complex<br />
Contact details<br />
The Beach Hut Trust:<br />
Angela Gorman<br />
Mobile: 079 504 1933<br />
Email: info@beachhuts.org.za<br />
municipal structures and more pressing socioeconomic<br />
issues have resulted in the nearcollapse<br />
of this iconic infrastructure. The Beach<br />
Huts are as important to South Africa as the<br />
Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower is to New<br />
York and Paris.<br />
The SAVE OUR BEACH HUTS campaign, run<br />
by The Beach Hut Trust, is a public and private<br />
collaborative initiative. The objectives are to<br />
Preserve, Protect and Promote the Beach Huts,<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s most iconic structures. To us, they<br />
represent opportunity and hope for South<br />
Africa. To the world, they represent a reason to<br />
travel here.<br />
We aim to create employment, restore an<br />
icon, promote tourism and generate a Beach<br />
Beach Huts-inspired industry that will sustain<br />
them indefinitely. The opportunities are endless<br />
and we are calling on all businesses to see<br />
how they can help support the programme to<br />
#SaveOurBeachHuts. ■<br />
Daniel Blaauw<br />
Mobile: 081 776 6522<br />
Email: info@beachhuts.org.za<br />
39 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2021
OVERVIEW<br />
Education<br />
Online schools are booming.<br />
The new School for Climate Change at Stellenbosch University has faculty status. Credit: SU<br />
The University of <strong>Cape</strong> Town announced the establishment<br />
of an online high school in 2021 with virtual classes due<br />
to start in January <strong>2022</strong>. The school hopes to close the<br />
opportunity gap for poor students in under-resourced<br />
areas. UCT is partnering with the Valenture Institute, a South<br />
African education technology company specialising in high school<br />
education. By September 2020, the school had received more than<br />
4 000 applications.<br />
Online learning is one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors<br />
and the investment of $3-million by Construct in a new <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
office is evidence that the trend is well and truly established in the<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>. The Construct Learning Lab supports universities in<br />
Boston, Doha and Oxford as well as companies and government<br />
bodies. The company expects to increase its staff complement by<br />
150 over three years.<br />
Tuberculosis continues to affect the lives of thousands of South<br />
Africans so the efforts of UCT Professor Keertan Dheda and a team<br />
of researchers is a most welcome and relevant application to local<br />
conditions. They have developed a new method of diagnosing<br />
tuberculosis from skin which is non-invasive, fast and highly accurate.<br />
Another relevant piece of work by a UCT academic won for Associate<br />
Professor Gina Ziervogel the institution’s Social Responsiveness Award. As<br />
a climate change adaption expert and geographer, Ziervogel played a key<br />
role in a team that advised the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town during the severe drought<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Stellenbosch University has<br />
established a School for<br />
Climate Studies.<br />
that threatened water supplies.<br />
An important contribution was<br />
to stress the importance of<br />
community understanding and<br />
involvement. She and renowned<br />
environmental journalist Leonie<br />
Joubert have produced a book<br />
called Day Zero: One city’s response<br />
to a record-breaking drought.<br />
Another climate adaptation<br />
has been observed at<br />
Stellenbosch University where<br />
a School for Climate Studies<br />
has been launched in response<br />
to growing interest in climate<br />
resilience and trying to move<br />
away from fossil fuels. It is the first<br />
such institution in the country to<br />
enjoy the status of faculty and it<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
40
OVERVIEW<br />
will work in an interdisciplinary way. The school has joined an illustrious<br />
set of international universities known as the Global University Alliance on<br />
Climate (GUAC) which includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br />
(MIT), Berkeley and Oxford and Cambridge.<br />
A R386-million campus is to be built by False Bay TVET in Mitchells<br />
Plain to serve that suburb, Strandfontein and surrounding areas. It will<br />
eventually cater for more than 5 000 students.<br />
The new Mitchells Plain Campus will complement the College’s existing<br />
campus presence in Khayelitsha, Fish Hoek, Westlake and Muizenberg.<br />
Programmes will be offered in tourism, creative media, business BPO,<br />
wholesale and retail and the services sectors. Bridging classes will also be<br />
presented for young people who do not meet entry requirements.<br />
The province’s I-CAN centres allow for public access to digital<br />
skills programmes, WiFi and business services. The centres are divided<br />
into zones (including Create, Study and Learn) and printing, graphic<br />
design and laminating services are available.<br />
The University of <strong>Cape</strong> Town has more than 21 500 students, 720<br />
permanent staff and 39 A-rated researchers (40% of South Africa’s<br />
total). Stellenbosch University is linked to Stellenbosch’s growing<br />
reputation as a technology hub. The University of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong><br />
is home to several national research bodies.<br />
These three institutions, plus the <strong>Cape</strong> Peninsula University of<br />
Technology, produce approximately 12 000 science, technology,<br />
engineering and mathematics graduates every year and host 11 000<br />
students from other African countries.<br />
University education is available in George through the Nelson<br />
Mandela University (NMU): Saasveld is home to the School of Natural<br />
Resource Management and the York Street Campus delivers courses in<br />
business and social science, accounting and business management.<br />
SARETEC offers industry-specific training in a new economic sector.<br />
The South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre is managed<br />
by the <strong>Cape</strong> Peninsula University of Technology (Bellville campus) but<br />
it collaborates with several other institutions and private companies.<br />
Unisa, the country’s biggest distance learning institution, has a<br />
campus in <strong>Cape</strong> Town and a service centre in George.<br />
Airports Company SA (ACSA), the City of <strong>Cape</strong> Town and the False Bay<br />
TVET College in Westlake have combined to offer residents of Blikkiesdorp a<br />
chance to learn skills in brick-laying, house-building, scaffolding and health<br />
and education. ACSA is investing R5-million in the 12-month certification<br />
project and the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) will<br />
channel funds to False Bay College for training.<br />
Centres of Specialisation<br />
Programme<br />
A Centres of Specialisation<br />
Programme has been introduced<br />
by the Department of Higher<br />
Education and Training to tackle<br />
priority skills.<br />
The Swartklip campus<br />
mentioned above will focus on<br />
training riggers and mechanical<br />
fitters. With the oil and gas sector<br />
expected to grow rapidly in the<br />
near future, trained artisans can<br />
expect to find employment<br />
quickly. The College of <strong>Cape</strong> TVET<br />
is concentrating on plumbing and<br />
automotive motor mechanics.<br />
The College of <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
has seven campuses from the city<br />
centre to Guguletu and Wynberg.<br />
A new welding academy in<br />
Thornton was opened with<br />
support from the merSETA<br />
(Manufacturing, Engineering and<br />
Related Services SETA). Northlink<br />
College is in the northern suburbs<br />
of <strong>Cape</strong> Town.<br />
Outside of the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
metropole, Boland College looks<br />
after Stellenbosch, Worcester, Paarl<br />
and Caledon, while the Southern<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> College covers a wide area,<br />
from George to Beaufort West. The<br />
West Coast College also has a big<br />
catchment area. Boland College<br />
participates in an Expanded<br />
Public Works Programme (EPWP)<br />
run by the South African Chefs’<br />
Association. ■<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Apprenticeship Game Changer: www.westerncape.gov.za<br />
Centres of Specialisation: www.dhet.gov.za<br />
SA Renewable Energy Technology Centre: www.saretec.org.za<br />
TVET colleges: www.tvetcolleges.co.za<br />
41<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
FOCUS<br />
Sustainable skills development<br />
College of <strong>Cape</strong> Town is the preferred provider for education and training.<br />
The College of <strong>Cape</strong> Town for TVET is<br />
strategically aligned through the Linkages<br />
and Partnerships Department of the College<br />
to establish and maintain strategic<br />
partnerships as well as to secure new projects, funding,<br />
equipment and other training and development<br />
resources. The College continuously expands and<br />
maintains a broad link with industry, various SETAs,<br />
provincial and national government sectors, other<br />
TVET Colleges and stakeholders within the training<br />
environment. The College boasts an impressive partnership<br />
list on which the names of both local and<br />
international partners appear. We welcome new<br />
partnerships with the private and public sectors, especially<br />
for occupational skills development.<br />
The College has longstanding partnerships<br />
and relationships with the private sector,<br />
various government departments and<br />
institutions, industry, SETAs and other postschool<br />
institutions, particularly for Workplace-<br />
Based Learning or Exposure. Most of these<br />
partnerships have been formalised through<br />
Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs)<br />
lodged with our Linkages and Partnerships<br />
Department which serves as a support area<br />
for the Centres of Specialisation, Occupational<br />
Development and delivery.<br />
We have recently launched a Power<br />
Partnerships campaign (Power Partners) to<br />
acknowledge and grow our existing partnership<br />
base. The programme works by leveraging the<br />
power of workplace base learning through the<br />
Power Partnerships Programme to improve<br />
people’s skills and livelihoods, in particular, our<br />
youth in the following areas:<br />
• Student placements (in-service training,<br />
internships and workplace-based learning)<br />
• Apprenticeships<br />
• Skills training<br />
• Course design<br />
• Workplace mentorship<br />
The power of partnerships<br />
The Power Partners campaign was officially<br />
launched in April 2021 at the Gardens Campus, in<br />
an auspicious event for the Centre of Specialisation<br />
(CoS) Power Partners.<br />
The event was for the College of <strong>Cape</strong> Town<br />
for TVET and affiliated project partners of the<br />
Department of Higher Education and Training<br />
(DHET); Energy and Water Sector Education<br />
Training Authority (EWSETA); Institute of Plumbing<br />
South Africa (IOPSA); Manufacturing, Engineering<br />
and Related Services SETA (merSETA) and Retail<br />
Motor Industry (RMI) to acknowledge the role<br />
demonstrated by these partners. The College<br />
expressed appreciation for the unwavering support<br />
and commitment demonstrated by these partners<br />
in recognition of the partnership agreement to<br />
collectively address the skills development needs<br />
in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>. All partners successfully<br />
accomplished the rollout and implementation<br />
of the the CoS Apprenticeship Programme for<br />
Automotive Motor Mechanic and Plumbing.<br />
When CoS was developed, the Department of<br />
Higher Education and Training had two objectives:<br />
address demand for priority trades and contribute<br />
towards capacity building of the public TVET<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
42
College system in delivering occupational trade<br />
qualifications with employers as partners. Out of<br />
the 13 Centre of Specialisation trades identified and<br />
developed, the College started with Automotive<br />
Motor Mechanic and Plumbing.<br />
The College expressed gratitude to all the<br />
partners and host employers and acknowledged<br />
sponsors (Autobooks, HaynesPro, Ford Motor<br />
Company ZA and Geberit ZA) for their meaningful<br />
contributions. Thirty Automotive Motor Mechanic<br />
apprentices were recruited and 10 host employers<br />
contracted, namely: Car Smart Service Centre,<br />
Taylor’s Auto Services, Automax Service & Fitment<br />
Centre, German Autoworks, Riaan’s Auto Repairs,<br />
Super Group, Unitrans, Canterbury Motors,<br />
Barloworld Barons Tokai and McCarthy. In addition,<br />
there are 20 plumbing apprentices and one<br />
contracted host employer, Peninsula Plumbing and<br />
Engineering Works.<br />
The College of <strong>Cape</strong> Town for TVET is not just<br />
the “Coolest College in South Africa”, but a Skills<br />
Battleground, with a strong army, made up of the<br />
best soldiers (affiliated partners) to collectively<br />
address the skills development needs of the <strong>Western</strong><br />
<strong>Cape</strong> and South Africa. Our motto for the year is<br />
“EXCELLENCE STARTS WITH ME”.<br />
We strive for excellence and quality in everything<br />
we do and this is commensurate with our mission<br />
of being “committed to being an institution of<br />
excellence that develops the potential of clients<br />
through quality Education and Training in response<br />
to the skills development needs of the country”. ■<br />
Specialised skills are practised in excellent facilities at the Collge of <strong>Cape</strong> Town.<br />
43 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
OVERVIEW<br />
Banking and financial services<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town has a stock exchange again.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Stockbrokers can stay in the<br />
Stock Exchange Hotel.<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town last had a stock exchange when the Anglo-Boer<br />
War chased financiers out of Johannesburg. This time, the<br />
owners of the 4AX stock exchange have willingly chosen<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town for its growing reputation as a home for tech<br />
startups and its traditional strength as the home of big asset<br />
management firms.<br />
Remarkably, the exchange has set up in The Woodstock<br />
Exchange directly opposite the Stock Exchange Hotel. Lebashe<br />
Investment Group owns 45% of the company.<br />
The choice to rebrand as <strong>Cape</strong> Town Stock Exchange also serves<br />
to set it apart from competitors such as A2X and ZAR X. Equity<br />
Express Securities Exchange is the other new exchange which has<br />
appeared on the South African financial landscape since 2017.<br />
The <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s evolution into a technology hub is also<br />
persuading banks, insurance providers, asset managers and venture<br />
capitalists to choose to relocate. There are more than 40 000 jobs in<br />
the technology sector (more than double the total of Nairobi and<br />
Lagos combined, Wesgro) and formal employment in the financial<br />
sector exceeds 50 000.<br />
Together with business services, the financial sector comprises<br />
the biggest contributor to the provincial economy. According to<br />
Wesgro, 75% of the venture capital deals that happen in South Africa<br />
originate in the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>. Most financial firms based in <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town have a long history, some going back as far as 1845 when Old<br />
Mutual started.<br />
One of the most successful disruptors in recent times has been<br />
Stellenbosch-based Capitec Bank, which is steadily increasing its<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Credit: The Woodstock Exchange<br />
Financial Sector Conduct Authority: www.fsca.co.za<br />
Insurance Institute of South Africa: www.iisa.co.za<br />
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants: www.saica.co.za<br />
customer base by providing<br />
banking for business and<br />
individual customers in what it<br />
describes as a simple manner.<br />
Discovery Bank officially<br />
launched in March 2019 and<br />
is experiencing rapid growth<br />
with deposits of R3.7-billion.<br />
Discovery Bank is applying the<br />
behavioural model it uses in its<br />
health business to reward good<br />
financial behaviour.<br />
The African Institute of Financial<br />
Markets and Risk Management<br />
(AIFMRM) aims to meet the<br />
demands for skills by developing<br />
local talent. It is supported by<br />
the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> Provincial<br />
Government, the University of<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town, Barclays Africa Group,<br />
FirstRand and Liberty.<br />
The head offices of financial<br />
firms are dotted all over <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town. These include Old<br />
Mutual and Foord (Pinelands),<br />
Futuregrowth and Coronation<br />
(Newlands), Prudential<br />
(Claremont), Sygnia (Green<br />
Point), Sanlam (Bellville) and<br />
Allan Gray (Waterfront). PSG has<br />
its headquarters in Stellenbosch<br />
and is well represented in rural<br />
towns. Insurers such as Santam<br />
and Metropolitan Life are based<br />
in Bellville. Nomura, a Japanese<br />
financial holding company, has<br />
a presence in the <strong>Cape</strong> through<br />
Nomura South Africa which offers<br />
investment banking services. ■<br />
GAUTENG BUSINESS 2020/21<br />
44
Bank on Standard Bank Trade<br />
to grow your business<br />
Building a secure and trusted environment for trade and traders.<br />
Cameron Venti on Unsplash<br />
Trade is a key cornerstone of economic<br />
growth and prosperity. The revitalisation of<br />
trade, both locally and internationally, will be<br />
integral to South Africa’s economic recovery<br />
from Covid-19. Trade allows for the flow of cash in<br />
our economy and as a result helps to drive economic<br />
prosperity, job creation and long-term stability.<br />
With Trade by Standard Bank, we aim to be a<br />
partner in your growth journey and can help create<br />
a secure and trusted environment for you to trade.<br />
This includes the following:<br />
• Introductions to new vetted potential buyers –<br />
locally and around the globe.<br />
• Assistance with diversifying your supplier<br />
base and products through access to new<br />
international, vetted suppliers.<br />
• The provision of working capital finance.<br />
• Mitigation of risks of non-delivery and non-payments<br />
from customers and foreign currency fluctuations.<br />
• A single point of contact to assist in all your importing<br />
needs, including all-in costing, logistics facilitation,<br />
product track-and-trace services, payments, foreign<br />
exchange covers and customs clearing.<br />
Banks play a critical role in helping small and<br />
medium businesses trade either their services or<br />
goods, both in the local and international markets.<br />
The importance of digital transformation in trade,<br />
as in most other sectors, cannot be overstated. It<br />
creates efficiencies and breaks down barriers to<br />
entry – linking suppliers and customers all over the<br />
world and allowing for the creation of new supply<br />
chains. It is through digitisation and the growth<br />
enablement it allows, that has led Standard Bank<br />
trade to devise new and differentiated solutions<br />
for customers:<br />
Trade Club<br />
There are two big environments where technology<br />
can help businesses: access to information and<br />
access to funding. It also increases the efficiency<br />
and the speed with which you can gain this access.<br />
Often the biggest inhibitor of trade is the ability to<br />
find trusted and vetted counterparts to trade with.<br />
Trade Finance<br />
Standard Bank’s Trade Finance allows you to<br />
expand and mitigate risks that could stand in<br />
your way. This service will help to maximise your<br />
profit by bolstering your cash flow, collecting<br />
outstanding payments and strengthening your<br />
working capital cycle.<br />
Trade Suite<br />
Local regulations and compliance issues can be<br />
inhibitors to trade. Clients are often unaware of the<br />
complexities of the movement of goods, including<br />
engaging with shipping lines and harbour officials<br />
on the import and export process.<br />
These solutions allow Standard Bank to play a vital<br />
strategic role in our clients’ sustainable business<br />
growth – both locally and internationally. We are<br />
able to leverage this position and knowledge of<br />
our clients’ businesses and local markets to give<br />
them the bespoke advice they need ■
OVERVIEW<br />
Development finance<br />
and SMME support<br />
Craft designers are preparing for US markets<br />
The <strong>Cape</strong> Town US Consulate General office is sponsoring an<br />
initiative to help creative businesses approach the US market.<br />
More than 80 <strong>Western</strong> and Eastern <strong>Cape</strong> businesses<br />
were exposed to a week-long programme of information<br />
sharing and networking in 2021 when the Craft and Design<br />
Institute (CDI) partnered with Aid To Artisans (ATA) to roll<br />
out the e-Market Readiness Programme (eMRP).<br />
On the programme, entrepreneurs learn about trends<br />
and the requirements of the US market through direct<br />
engagement with industry experts and retail buyers. For<br />
10 selected businesses there is a five-month <strong>Business</strong><br />
Intensive process.<br />
Jehan Jones-Radgowski, Acting Public Affairs Officer<br />
at the US Consulate, says, “The Expanding to Export<br />
Market Access Programme will prepare South-Africanbased<br />
entrepreneurs in the creative sector to enter the US<br />
handmade retail market.” Among the participants were<br />
Kingsdale Emporio and Dimzique Jewellery.<br />
Two of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong>’s universities, Stellenbosch<br />
and <strong>Cape</strong> Town, are among the first collaborators with the<br />
University Technology Fund which aims to commercialise<br />
innovations and inventions coming out of tertiary institutions. The<br />
UTF has financial clout as it is a part of the South African SME Fund,<br />
an offshoot of the CEO Initiative which brought together 50 major<br />
corporations, the Public Investment Corporation, the Unemployment<br />
Insurance Fund and the Compensation Commission.<br />
Among the businesses receiving support from the SA SME<br />
Fund are Masisizane which helps black entrepreneurs buy petrol<br />
stations and Hyrax, a company which emerged from research<br />
done at the University of the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> into which HIV-positive<br />
people were resistant to certain drugs.<br />
The National Department of Small <strong>Business</strong> Development<br />
(DSBD) has several programmes to assist SMMEs and cooperatives.<br />
The Small Enterprise Development Agency is an<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Craft and Design Institute: www.thecdi.org.za<br />
SA SME Fund: sasmefund.co.za<br />
Small Enterprise Development Agency: www.seda.co.za<br />
Small Enterprise Finance Agency: www.sefa.org.za<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
University student’s<br />
bright ideas are getting<br />
business funding.<br />
Credit: Dimzique Jewellery<br />
agency of the DSBD and<br />
gives non-financial support<br />
to entrepreneurs through<br />
training, assistance with<br />
filling in forms, marketing and<br />
creating business plans.<br />
Seda runs a Rapid Incubator<br />
in partnership with the Centre<br />
for Entrepreneurship (CFE)<br />
at False Bay TVET College,<br />
Westlake Campus.<br />
Many startups find the cost<br />
of finding and hiring premises<br />
prohibitive. Flexible working<br />
spaces such as those offered by<br />
Workshop17 offer a solution. The<br />
company has sites in Paarl, the<br />
Gardens and at the Watershed at<br />
the V&A Waterfront. ■<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
46
OVERVIEW<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Process Outsourcing<br />
BPO growth is bolstering employment.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
Amazon added 3 000<br />
employees in 2020.<br />
A<br />
200-seat call centre opened in Paarden Island in 2021,<br />
further evidence of <strong>Cape</strong> Town’s attractiveness as a<br />
business process outsourcing venue.<br />
iContact BPO, which also has a centre in Johannesburg,<br />
is part of Alefbet Holdings Group, an international company with<br />
more than 1 000 full-time employees.<br />
The company’s CEO, Clinton Cohen, believes that South Africa<br />
offers speed to market, flexibility and professional delivery. Cohen<br />
gives an example of hiring 100 skilled agents in less than 100 hours<br />
to meet the exacting brief of a US-based automotive client. “There<br />
are few BPO sectors in the world that can provide this sort of<br />
agility and rapid scaling while maintaining quality and compliance<br />
requirements,” said Cohen.<br />
The BPO sector’s continued growth is good news for youth<br />
employment in the region and the country. According to McKinsey’s<br />
South Africa Big Five report, the BPO sector currently employs over<br />
270 000 people in six cities, of which 65 000 serve international clients.<br />
This total could grow to over 775 000 jobs by 2030, with up to<br />
two-thirds of these servicing overseas markets. The UK makes up<br />
61% of offshore business in South Africa, the US and Canada 18%<br />
and Australia 11%.<br />
In the course of 2020, Amazon increased its total South African<br />
recruitment to 7 000 with the addition of 3 000 new employees to<br />
service its North American and European markets.<br />
Significantly lower costs than European competitors and growth<br />
rates in the <strong>Business</strong> Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector that outstrip<br />
the global rate make the <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> an extremely competitive<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Credit: iContact BPO<br />
<strong>Business</strong> Process enabling South Africa (BPeSA): www.bpesa.org.za<br />
Contact Centre Management Group: www.ccmg.org.za<br />
National Department of Trade, Industry and Competition:<br />
www.dtic.gov.za<br />
destination. According to the<br />
Everest Group Study (2018),<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town’s costs for contact<br />
centre work are between 20%<br />
and 30% lower than the costs<br />
in Eastern and Central Europe.<br />
South Africa’s BPO industry is<br />
growing twice as fast as the<br />
world’s and three times faster<br />
than India and the Philippines<br />
(Invest <strong>Cape</strong> Town).<br />
UK shop Asda and online<br />
retailer Amazon have large<br />
customer service centres in <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town. Other big brands include<br />
British Gas, IBM, KLM, Lufthansa,<br />
Mastercard and Microsoft. Global<br />
and local BPO investors with<br />
operations in <strong>Cape</strong> Town include<br />
TutorABC, CSC, Collinsons Group,<br />
Bloomberg, Shell, AskOsca,<br />
JTC Group, Wonga, SimplyTalk,<br />
Ambition 24 Hour Group and<br />
Buongiorno.<br />
Inbound customer service<br />
(55%), inbound sales (15%) and<br />
debt collection (13%) comprise<br />
the biggest subsectors of the<br />
BPO sector in the <strong>Cape</strong> (Wesgro).<br />
Greater <strong>Cape</strong> Town is home<br />
to three universities, a university<br />
of technology and two technical<br />
colleges. Other factors in favour of<br />
the area are the relatively neutral<br />
accents, good financial and<br />
telecommunications infrastructure<br />
and the time zone being the same<br />
or close to Europe’s. ■<br />
47<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
INDEX<br />
INDEX<br />
Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ)....................................................................................12-15, OBC<br />
Beach Hut Trust.............................................................................................................................................................39<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Chamber of Commerce & Industry...........................................................................................2-3, 16<br />
College of <strong>Cape</strong> Town.................................................................................................................................. 9, 42-43<br />
Council for Geoscience.................................................................................................................................... 30-33<br />
Petroleum Agency South Africa................................................................................................................. 28-29<br />
Standard Bank.............................................................................................................................................. IFC, 25, 45<br />
Vinpro...............................................................................................................................................................................IBC<br />
Vodacom................................................................................................................................................................... 20-21<br />
Wesgro....................................................................................................................................................................... 10-11<br />
<strong>Western</strong> <strong>Cape</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Opportunities Forum (WECBOF)..................................................................17<br />
WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
48
SA wine industry set to<br />
rebuild and bounce forward<br />
Wine and wine tourism will remain resilient.<br />
By Rico Basson, Vinpro MD<br />
FOCUS<br />
Despite setbacks brought on by Covid-19<br />
over the past two years, South Africa’s wine<br />
and brandy industry is ready to not only<br />
bounce back to where we were before the<br />
Covid-19 pandemic hit, but to bounce forward. This<br />
sector, which provides job opportunities to close to<br />
269 000 people and contributes R55-billion to the<br />
economy, is on a path to rebuild.<br />
To achieve our vision of being robust, adaptable<br />
and competitive, the industry focuses on boosting<br />
exports and local sales, promoting inclusive growth<br />
and responsible consumption, and striving for<br />
sustainability in all facets of business.<br />
Apart from cutting off wine businesses’<br />
revenue in excess of R8-billion, trade restrictions<br />
in 2020 and 2021 resulted in a wine surplus, which<br />
drove down producer and cellar pricing and<br />
placed further pressure on the finances of wine<br />
businesses. To remedy this situation, the industry<br />
will have to continue to implement measures to<br />
reduce the surplus, including allocating grapes for<br />
grape juice concentrate and finding new markets.<br />
South Africa could seize export opportunities<br />
due to lower global wine production in 2021. East<br />
Africa, the UK and USA, Canada, China and Europe<br />
remain key markets. Logistical challenges at the <strong>Cape</strong><br />
Town Port Terminal are urgently being addressed to<br />
support these exports while negotiations to secure<br />
preferential trade agreements with China and<br />
African countries continue.<br />
Wine tourism is an important driver of growth<br />
in the local market, but its success will depend on<br />
no further alcohol trade restrictions. Therefore, the<br />
wine industry continuously engages with more<br />
than 10 national government departments to<br />
ensure fact-based decisions are made regarding<br />
Rico Basson, Vinpro MD<br />
trade restrictions, together with various targeted<br />
initiatives to promote responsible consumption<br />
and legal trade.<br />
We anticipate that transformation and<br />
the development of new businesses will gain<br />
momentum through dedicated funding and<br />
strategic initiatives. Furthermore, South Africa<br />
is a world leader in climate change and in line<br />
with Sustainability 360 as the theme of the<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Wine <strong>2022</strong> international trade exhibition<br />
from 5 to 7 October <strong>2022</strong>, we believe that<br />
sustainability in its various facets will become<br />
even more intertwined in the activities of<br />
wine businesses.<br />
The road to recovery will be long and hard, but<br />
the wine and wine tourism industries will remain<br />
resilient, celebrating milestones along the way<br />
towards a stronger and more sustainable industry.<br />
About Vinpro<br />
Vinpro represents 2 600 South African wine grape<br />
producers, cellars and wine-related businesses,<br />
while providing strategic direction, rendering<br />
specialised services and supporting people<br />
development. ■<br />
Contact details<br />
Vinpro<br />
Tel: +27 21 276 0429 | Email: info@vinpro.co.za | Website: www.vinpro.co.za
Atlantis Special<br />
Economic Zone<br />
Africa’s first Greentech hub<br />
Atlantis SEZ capitalises on the province's booming<br />
renewable energy and green technology sector.<br />
The SEZ has already attracted investments of<br />
R680-million and created over 312 direct jobs to<br />
date, paving the way as Africa’s only Greentech hub.<br />
The Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) for<br />
Green Technologies is located on the West Coast<br />
of South Africa, in the <strong>Cape</strong> Town Metro. The zone<br />
is dedicated to the manufacturing and provision of<br />
services in green technology.<br />
Wind turbines, solar panels, insulation, biofuels,<br />
electric vehicles, materials recycling and green<br />
building materials are examples of green technology<br />
that are welcomed.<br />
If you are a manufacturer, service provider or supplier<br />
to green tech value chains, the ASEZ may be a great<br />
place to locate. It offers the benefits of co-location,<br />
access to strong markets, a development-ready area,<br />
great support and incentives, and an attractive skills<br />
base to recruit from.<br />
Contact details<br />
Address: 60 St George’s Mall, SA<br />
Reserve Bank Building, 7th floor,<br />
<strong>Cape</strong> Town, South Africa 8001<br />
Tel: +27 (087) 183 7017<br />
Emails: info@AtlantisSEZ.co.za<br />
Jarrod@AtlantisSEZ.co.za<br />
Website: www.atlantissez.com