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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 />

JOIN US ONLINE<br />

WWW.GLOBALAFRICANETWORK.COM | WWW.WESTERNCAPEBUSINESS.CO.ZA


FROM LOCAL<br />

ORIGINS TO GLOBAL<br />

GREATNESS<br />

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Standard Bank is an authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP15). The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Reg.<br />

It Can Be is a trademark of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. GMS-18817 11/21


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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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In addition to this leadership role, we also serve and enable business,<br />

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@cape_chamber


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 />

WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />

12


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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 />

14


ithout<br />

ff line<br />

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

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