As a contemporary African business city, Cape Town plays host to a world of reasons that make us a competitive investment destination. Need convincing? Here are six reasons to invest in Cape Town:
An enabling environment
We offer an enabling environment. Cape Town is business-friendly, efficiently run, and offers a range of government support accessible through the City of Cape Town’s Investment Facilitation Unit and the InvestSA One-Stop-Shop. Cutting red tape and investor care is key, as noted by Gregory George Burke, Head of Site Selections to Africa Data Centres, “Cape Town in our opinion is one of the most efficiently run cities in Africa, which has aided in compounding our offshore customers’ confidence and willingness to expand with us. We have been very fortunate to have been supported throughout our expansion by the City of Cape Town, which has made the whole process a breeze.
Globally accessible
Improving our ease of doing business is vital, and goes hand-in-hand with our connectivity efforts, making us a globally accessible city. Cape Town is a gateway to Africa and home to three major ports and the award-winning Cape Town International Airport. Leon Marias, Huhtamaki SA Financial Director says, “The infrastructure is amazing with road, air and sea access, the ability to find work-life balance is facilitated by access to many natural relaxing environments. But best of all is the sense of community that you find nowhere else but in Cape Town”.
Overflow with talent
And the Cape’s communities overflow with talent; the city is teeming with innovative thinkers and a bespoke entrepreneurial spirit due to our deep and diverse talent pool. We are home to four top universities, including the best university in Africa, which ensures a steady supply of skilled, highly educated talent.
Good infrastructure
James Hanekom, Director of Swartland Group cites this as a key reason for situating their business here: “Swartland is a national company and our sales are linked to the economic activity in the rest of South Africa. Despite Gauteng being our biggest market, we have decided to keep both our head office and manufacturing plants in the Western Cape. This is due to the good infrastructure that is available here and the high skills levels of our local staff.”
Thriving startup ecosystem
PF Nonwovens RSA General Manager, Wilhelm Cronje echoes this, saying; “We are very fortunate to establish our new facility in the Western Cape on the back of a well-organised infrastructure.” As a city, Cape Town’s world-class infrastructure underpins our ability to do business, connect talent with opportunities, and support investors from contact to set-up. This includes Micro, Small and Medium-sized businesses too – we have a thriving startup ecosystem to prove it.
Lifestyle
As the regional tech and innovation hub and home to Africa’s oldest startup incubator, Cape Innovation & Technology Institute (CiTi), Cape Town is recognised as the startup capital of Africa. Dr Audrey Verhaeghe, chair and organiser of the SA Innovation Summit said it best: “There is a collaborative force in Cape Town that you won’t find anywhere else in the country. Cape Town offers a space that is connected. People underestimate what connectivity does for the ecosystem – Cape Town has it and understands it. You find the right talent here, there are so many success stories and the tech industry is booming.”
Lance Greyling, the City of Cape Town’s Director of the Department of Enterprise and Investment, echoes these reasons, stating that “Cape Town has got a diversified economy, with many of the sectors that we are leading in, in fact, poised for global growth. So we truly are a city of the future and we want you to come and be part of that story going forward and to make this your base for penetrating the African market.”
Atop this range of reasons to do business in Cape Town, rests the advantage of lifestyle; the natural beauty and wide-open spaces position our city as a wonderfully liveable metro that supports a healthy work-life balance. Cape Town is a great place to live, work and invest.
As Alderman James Vos, Mayco Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management sums up: “Cape Town is a high-performance African business hub and an excellent location for businesses looking to launch their operations into Africa and beyond. Our world-class airport – recently voted the best airport on the African Continent – and our well-located harbour provides seamless access to African and international markets. And our ability to transact land to unlock economic potential makes the City of Cape Town a destination of choice for investment”.
