Wesgro assists job creation in the Western Cape tourism industry

Wesgro announced that it helped facilitate R10,73 billion into the Western Cape’s economy for the 2018/2019 financial year. In addition, Cape Town and the Western Cape’s official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, assisted in generating close to 4 000 jobs for the province.

Wesgro’s Commitment and Collaboration

“Wesgro has an unwavering commitment to growing the economy and creating jobs in the Western Cape and South Africa. This is what motivates our board, senior managers and staff, each and every day. To achieve this overarching objective, we set stretch targets that push our small Agency to do as much as possible with the resources it has at its disposal,” said Professor Brian Figaji, chairman of the Wesgro board. 

“Wesgro plays an important role in attracting direct investment into the Western Cape, growing exports and marketing the province as a top tourist destination, and this past year they not only achieved all targets, but also exceeded a number of targets. In addition, their approach to linking business with government has built connections that are invaluable both during economic challenges and in times of prosperity. We look forward to another year of collaborative efforts to grow the economy and create jobs in the Western Cape,” said David Maynier, Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities for the Western Cape.

“When reflecting on the 2018/19 financial year and the work of Wesgro during this challenging period, one keyword comes to mind: collaboration,” said Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro. “The ability to work together in finding solutions, across different levels of governments, and between government and the private sector, is not easy. But it is essential in overcoming the many complex hurdles that face our economy.”

International Trade Promotion Unit

Wesgro’s Trade Promotion Unit works to promote Cape Town and the Western Cape’s exports while maximising the international competitiveness of exporters. The Unit’s approach is two-fold: to promote global exports of goods and services from local companies, and to support the operations and expansion of Cape companies into the rest of Africa with the overall aim of creating opportunities for economic growth and sustainable job creation.

The Unit signed 79 business agreements which is valued at an estimated economic impact of R4,97bn, resulting in 921 jobs. Furthermore, the team facilitated a total of nine outward foreign direct investment projects to a value of R381m.

Investment Promotion Unit

The Wesgro Investment Promotion Unit’s (IPU) key objective is to attract and facilitate foreign and domestic direct investment into the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Province.

The Unit secured 15 investment projects, to the value of R2.22bn, which resulted in 752 direct jobs. The team went on 16 outward foreign investment missions to promote the Western Cape and hosted 83 inward business delegations. 96 new projects were also added to the pipeline for the near future.

The Western Cape’s InvestSA One Stop Shop (OSS) successfully assisted with 13 regulatory approvals in its first financial year. It played a role in 30% of the total committed investment. The OSS is geared towards providing investors with services to fast-track projects and reduce government red tape when investing.

Agribusiness Investment Unit

The Agribusiness Investment Unit (AIU), funded by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, forms part of the Wesgro Investment Promotion Unit.

Key achievements for the AIU include six investment projects valued at R653,9m with 487 jobs facilitated through these investments.

Destination Marketing Organisation

Wesgro’s Destination Marketing Organisation, which includes both Leisure and Business Tourism units, worked hard during a challenging year to promote Cape Town and the Western Cape to visitors and delegates.

The total estimated economic value of these initiatives supported, amounts to R1,15bn, which far exceeded the target of R171,6m.

Leisure Tourism

The purpose of the Leisure Tourism team is to increase the number of international and domestic visitors to the five regions of the Western Cape (Cape Karoo, Cape West Coast, Cape Winelands, Cape Overberg, Garden Route and Klein Karoo), and the City of Cape Town during the traditional low season.

The team focuses on creating demand through various innovative marketing campaigns and joint marketing agreements with tourism stakeholders and the private sector.

The Unit supported a total of 34 tourism destination initiatives. They generated a total of over R85,66m worth of media exposure AVE (advertorial value equivalent). Nineteen joint marketing agreements were secured, and 50 events hosted.

Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau

The Convention Bureau (CB) team focuses on growing and attracting meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) to the Cape through bidding.

Leveraging the Best Cities Global Alliance membership remains a key focus, as does offering meeting planners access to the Unit’s four unique programmes: delegate boosting, legacy, networking and business conversion.

The team had various successes over the 2018/2019 period and includes winning over 30 bids which has an economic impact of R1,19bn for the Western Cape, maintaining its top position in the ICCA rankings for Africa, hosting 51 International association meetings and 26 343 delegates.

The following key conferences were secured during the 2018/2019 financial year: Agritech Africa in 2020, International Paediatric Dentistry Congress in 2023 and the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in 2024.

Film and Media Promotion Unit

The Film and Media Promotion Unit aims to attract the production of local and international films and new media productions into Cape Town and the Western Cape. This objective is aligned to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s (DEDAT) five-year film and media strategy, the Cape Town Film Studios, as well as the film and media promotion mandate from the City of Cape Town.

The Unit has successfully done so with the R2,38bn production value spend declared in five declarations with 2265 FTE (full-time equivalent) jobs linked to these productions. The team assisted 1205 businesses with export advancement programs and went on 11 inbound missions and delegations, where they assisted 75 companies in accessing key global markets.

“I am very proud of the work done by the Wesgro team and I thank them for putting the funding the City has provided to good use. The agency’s hard-work has once again delivered a positive economic impact and supported the facilitation and creation of jobs.

A main priority of the City of Cape Town is to generate and maintain the right conditions to attract investment, grow the economy and create jobs.

A key component to achieve this is the collaboration between the City and its Strategic Business Partners and I look forward to seeing more bang for the City’s buck in the 2019/2020 financial year.” said Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Finance and Economic Opportunities.