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Cape Town’s IT-intensive push yields investment gains

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 09 Feb 2021

Some of Cape Town’s IT-intensive sectors, which include business process outsourcing (BPO) and the green economy, attracted billions in investments over the past year.

This is according to the city, which notes this is despite the COVID-19-induced lockdown that saw most economic activity grind to a halt in 2020.

Through its strategic business partners (SBPs), the City of Cape Town has identified sectors poised for high-growth, which will aid in the creation of jobs and lead to economic expansion.

It counts the Cape IT Initiative, Wesgro, CapeBPO, Clotex, Cape Town Tourism, GreenCape and BlueCape among its SBPs.

The city says between January and December 2020, the SBPs collectively facilitated R11.27 billion in investment, created 7 631 new jobs and trained 2 932 people.

These investments were in sectors like BPO, call centres, the green economy, craft and design, and boat-building, to name a few, which the city says are poised for significant growth.

“I am pleased by the efforts to create jobs and attract investment in our city, despite the challenges of COVID-19 on the country’s economy, livelihoods and health,” says executive mayor Dan Plato. “These successes are an indication of the confidence that international companies and countries continue to have in Cape Town in terms of creating an environment that is conducive to job creation.

“We offer many things to the potential investor through reliable infrastructure, a focus on good governance, an appealing exchange rate and a great location for a work-life balance. I am confident we can continue to recover and rebuild following the impact of COVID-19 on employment.”

James Vos, the city’s mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management, adds: “All our plans and programmes are aimed at getting our local economy back on its feet as fast as possible, but also to build a stronger, more resilient economy for generations to come.”

Last year, the city said between July 2019 and June 2020, it had attracted R954 million worth of investments in the BPO sector, lauding the job opportunities and investment potential the sector creates.

According to city officials, the BPO industry employs over 60 000 people in the Western Cape, with over 50% of the companies in the sector situated in Cape Town.

“We have numerous exciting programmes which focus on skills training because I often hear from my interactions with businesses how they struggle to source the talent and skills that they need to sustain and grow their businesses,” says Vos.

“Through our workforce development programme, called Jobs Connect, we create a better link between demand and supply of people seeking employment. The Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator Project creates skills pipelines for high-growth sectors and provides trained and work-ready employees.”

“Cape Town has a very strong investment ecosystem precisely because our SBPs attract investors. The investment facilitation unit within the city’s enterprise and investment department in turn makes sure they have a smooth landing in the city. We do this by offering a suite of financial and non-financial incentives, as well as investment facilitation services as part of our commitment to growing the Cape Town economy for the benefit of all,” he concludes.


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