Stimulating economic growth and creating new jobs in Nelson Mandela Bay requires that we not only ensure that the metro business environment is conducive to retaining existing investors, but that we proactively work to attract new investment.
With the Eastern Cape economy in recession and having the country’s highest unemployment rate, it is more critical than ever that business and government collaborate to restore the enabling environment to attract and retain investment, protecting and creating jobs.
Positioning Nelson Mandela Bay as the Bay of Opportunity highlights the strategic advantages that the metro offers to investors and our potential to be a diverse manufacturing and trade hub servicing the continent.
The Bay is well-positioned to tap into opportunities for intra-continental trade and investment through the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement:
- We are one of only a handful of cities in the world to offer two ports, anchoring multiple transport modes and an extensive logistics sector;
- We are the automotive hub of SA, with depth of manufacturing, technology and innovation capabilities and highly skilled people;
- We offer lifestyle advantages in a compact, connected city with outstanding natural environment assets; and
- We have a solutions-focused business community who are working together for the collective good of the Bay.
Identifying this potential is but the first step.
The next is to move from talking about it, to taking action to set it in motion.
The business chamber’s recent launch of a Trade and Investment Desk is a proactive initiative to realise the potential of the Bay of Opportunity by positioning the metro on the national and global stage as an investment destination of choice.
The focus is on building business confidence and attracting catalytic investments which bring additional value-chain opportunities to drive diversified growth.
This is a collaborative effort, focused on the overall goal of retaining and attracting investments and jobs.
One of the core strengths of the chamber is our ability to bring diverse stakeholders together to support a common cause, and we were heartened by the quick uptake of the opportunity to support this initiative by our key partners BDO and Rand Merchant Bank.
Importantly for the goal that the desk should facilitate collaboration and enhance, rather than duplicate, existing efforts in trade and investment promotion, is that the Eastern Cape Development Corporation has also embraced the opportunity for partnership — immediately strengthening the programme.
In addition to our founding partners, the initiative has been welcomed by the Nelson Mandela municipality’s economic development team and the Coega Development Corporation, who are keen to work with us.
The desk, which has a dedicated staff and resources, offers a co-ordinated port-of-call for existing and prospective investors, providing streamlined engagement with the various agencies which play a role in the enabling environment.
The desk will undertake international marketing of the Bay as an investment destination, working in partnership with key trade and investment role players to ensure collaborative efforts and consistent messaging.
It will also support investors with economic data, local information and advisories, access to networks and key role players, and offer a help-desk service to unlock barriers and red tape as well as supporting existing investors to resolve service delivery and other enabling environment challenges.
On the trade front, the desk will facilitate trade and export opportunities for local businesses.
This includes hosting inward and outbound investor and trade/buying delegations, identifying trade exhibitions and missions in which local businesses can participate, and facilitating access to funding support.
The desk will also support the chamber’s forward-looking Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank, which is working to generate viable new business opportunities to build on the metro’s strengths and future-proof the local economy.
While we speak of the significant potential of our Bay of Opportunity, we also acknowledge the significant challenges standing in our way — the crisis of safety and security, reliability of electricity and water supply, the countrywide logistics constraints, as well as service delivery issues at a local level.
However, while these challenges remain significant, we need to take forward-looking, proactive steps such as driving for new investments, at the same time as the chamber drives multiple initiatives to solve current problems and ensure that both existing and prospective investors are met with a more conducive environment for doing business.
It all starts with us, with taking action as a unified business community to solve problems and ignite the potential that lies in our belief in the Bay of Opportunity.
Denise van Huyssteen is chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
HeraldLIVE
Boosting trade and investment for the Bay of Opportunity
Columnist
Image: Werner Hills
Stimulating economic growth and creating new jobs in Nelson Mandela Bay requires that we not only ensure that the metro business environment is conducive to retaining existing investors, but that we proactively work to attract new investment.
With the Eastern Cape economy in recession and having the country’s highest unemployment rate, it is more critical than ever that business and government collaborate to restore the enabling environment to attract and retain investment, protecting and creating jobs.
Positioning Nelson Mandela Bay as the Bay of Opportunity highlights the strategic advantages that the metro offers to investors and our potential to be a diverse manufacturing and trade hub servicing the continent.
The Bay is well-positioned to tap into opportunities for intra-continental trade and investment through the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement:
Identifying this potential is but the first step.
The next is to move from talking about it, to taking action to set it in motion.
The business chamber’s recent launch of a Trade and Investment Desk is a proactive initiative to realise the potential of the Bay of Opportunity by positioning the metro on the national and global stage as an investment destination of choice.
The focus is on building business confidence and attracting catalytic investments which bring additional value-chain opportunities to drive diversified growth.
This is a collaborative effort, focused on the overall goal of retaining and attracting investments and jobs.
One of the core strengths of the chamber is our ability to bring diverse stakeholders together to support a common cause, and we were heartened by the quick uptake of the opportunity to support this initiative by our key partners BDO and Rand Merchant Bank.
Importantly for the goal that the desk should facilitate collaboration and enhance, rather than duplicate, existing efforts in trade and investment promotion, is that the Eastern Cape Development Corporation has also embraced the opportunity for partnership — immediately strengthening the programme.
In addition to our founding partners, the initiative has been welcomed by the Nelson Mandela municipality’s economic development team and the Coega Development Corporation, who are keen to work with us.
The desk, which has a dedicated staff and resources, offers a co-ordinated port-of-call for existing and prospective investors, providing streamlined engagement with the various agencies which play a role in the enabling environment.
The desk will undertake international marketing of the Bay as an investment destination, working in partnership with key trade and investment role players to ensure collaborative efforts and consistent messaging.
It will also support investors with economic data, local information and advisories, access to networks and key role players, and offer a help-desk service to unlock barriers and red tape as well as supporting existing investors to resolve service delivery and other enabling environment challenges.
On the trade front, the desk will facilitate trade and export opportunities for local businesses.
This includes hosting inward and outbound investor and trade/buying delegations, identifying trade exhibitions and missions in which local businesses can participate, and facilitating access to funding support.
The desk will also support the chamber’s forward-looking Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank, which is working to generate viable new business opportunities to build on the metro’s strengths and future-proof the local economy.
While we speak of the significant potential of our Bay of Opportunity, we also acknowledge the significant challenges standing in our way — the crisis of safety and security, reliability of electricity and water supply, the countrywide logistics constraints, as well as service delivery issues at a local level.
However, while these challenges remain significant, we need to take forward-looking, proactive steps such as driving for new investments, at the same time as the chamber drives multiple initiatives to solve current problems and ensure that both existing and prospective investors are met with a more conducive environment for doing business.
It all starts with us, with taking action as a unified business community to solve problems and ignite the potential that lies in our belief in the Bay of Opportunity.
Denise van Huyssteen is chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
HeraldLIVE
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