Wesgro is the official investment and trade promotion agency for the Western Cape, located in Cape Town. We are the first point of contact for foreign importers, local exporters and investors wishing to take advantage of the business potential here. Wesgro works closely with key players including government.

1. What makes the Western Cape internationally competitive?

Infrastructure
The province is well served with infrastructure, with three ports at Saldanha, Cape Town and Mossel Bay serving different markets. The province also has world class IT infrastructure linked to the world via submarine cables and satellite. The Cape Town convention centre is the province-leading facility in the events and conference field, an area of growth for the province. The province is also strategically located as it provides an important gateway into Africa. The Western Cape is served with three major ports, three national highways and two large airports.  

Transport
The ports include Saldhana Bay, Mossel Bay and Cape Town. The port of Cape Town is a full service general cargo, well equipped in its general container storage facilities. It is located about 120 nautical miles north-west of Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point of Africa, at latitude of 33°54' south and a longitude of 18°26' east. Its strategic position on the main sea route around Africa allows it to serve as a hub for cargos between Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

The presence of airports and airstrips has become very important in facilitating the development of municipalities. Cape Town International Airport and George Airport are two airports operating in the Western Cape. The George City airport also handles commercial flights. It should also be noted that there are a number of private airstrips in the Western Cape many of which belong to game lodges, hotels etc. Significant amounts of capital (approximately ZAR1bn) are also being spent on upgrading and expanding Cape Town International Airport.

Utilities
Water: Severe droughts in the Southern Cape have helped in providing water to towns through investment in desalination and recycling plants. The need for clean water has created opportunities for small specialist companies.

Electricity: In 2009 the City of Cape Town issued ZAR128m in order to improve the capacity and efficiency of several of its substations. In late 2008 and early 2009 Eskom brought an additional 1039MW by commissioning seven units shared in Atlantis and Mossel Bay. These units are useful for coping with variable demand as they are gas and diesel fired. The only nuclear power station in South Africa, Koeberg is situated in Western Cape. 

ICT
Cape Town is the most conducive and cost effective location for ICT. There are over 200 IT and software companies in Cape Town, employing 7 500 staff in computer activities in the Western Cape. The total employment in ICT services in the Western Cape is 17 000. In addition, there are 45 000 students in Cape Town providing a large supply of educated people entering the workforce.

General overview
The Western Cape is the third largest provincial economy in South Africa after Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. In 2009, the Western Cape economy was worth ZAR264bn, translating into 15% of the national GDP. Over the past seven consecutive years (2003 to 2009), the Western Cape economy has outperformed the national economy in terms of GDP growth.

Economic activity (2011):

• GDP growth (South African economy): 4.8%
• GDP growth (Western cape Economy) declined by 1.4% from growth 4.3% on 2009
• GDP growth by sector (Western Cape): Construction 10.5%, finance, insurance, real estate and business services 6.0% and transport, storage and communication 4.6%
• Inflation rate (2010Q4): 3.5%

Economic structure

• Job creation (2010Q4) 18 000, 12 000 (2011Q1)
• Employment by sector: Social Services sector (+13 000), trade sector (+9 000)
• Job losses by sector: private households (8 000), construction (9 000)

Skills
The Western Cape has a strong educational sector which ensures skilled workforce for the provincial economy. It has excellent education facilities. Innovative schools such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), the Cape Academy for Maths, Science and Technology (in Tokai) and the Centre of Science and Technology (in Khayelitsha) have been established to track the maths and science backlog.

The Western Cape has some of the best schools in the country and is often praised for its achievements. Currently there are a total of 2 061 educational centres in the Western Cape, 48% of them focused on primary education (Grades 1-7), 8% on intermediate education and 17% on secondary education (Grades 8-12). There are also a number of combined schools as well as schools focused solely on the provision of adult education.

Tertiary education
The Western Cape has four tertiary institutions namely University of Stellenbosch, University of Western Cape and Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Africa's number one University – the University of Cape Town (UCT). 

There are two graduate schools namely, the UCT's Graduate School of Business (UCTGSB) and Stellenbosch Business School. The UCTGSB is regarded and has accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development in 2010.The Western Cape is also rich with FET colleges and Abet. Some are in fairly small towns, thus making further education accessible to people rural areas and townships.

2. What were the success stories for Wesgro during 2011?

Two thousand and eleven was an extremely busy year for Wesgro. The main highlight would be our Investor Forum with President Jacob Zuma as the keynote speaker. This event was attended by 350 business and government professionals from all over the region. Further to this, we hosted a number of high-level inward delegations and escorted local exporters to overseas markets. A number of our exporters secured deals in these markets for film, wine and a few other products. 

3. What are your goals for 2012?

Our goals for 2012 remain to secure foreign direct investment and assist local exporters to explore new markets. Added to this we will expand our efforts to promote the region as a business and tourist destination, strengthening the Western Cape brand.  

About Nils Flaatten:
Nils Flaatten completed his high schooling at Paul Roos Gymnasium, in Stellenbosch. He then spent a year as a Rotary Exchange Student in Spooner Wisconsin (USA) where he attended Spooner High School. He served in the South African Navy as a combat officer and during his sea time visited Marion Island and the Antarctic before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stellenbosch University. After university he worked in London for Dresdner RCM Global Investors and then Barclays Global Investors in Jersey (Channel Islands). Nils then moved to Hong Kong where he worked for Citigroup as the Asia-Pacific Regional Marketing Manager in the bank’s Global Corporate and Investment Bank  division. While in Hong Kong he also served as the Chairperson of the South African Business Forum. He then returned to London where he worked for the Capital Markets Company (Capco) as a management consultant. He returned to South Africa where he served as advisor to the provincial Minister for development, Economics and Planning and Managing Director of the African Carbon Trust. He is currently the CEO of Wesgro – the Western Cape Government’s investment and trade promotion agency. Nils has guest lectured at the Stellenbosch University Graduate School of Business, on Doing Business in China and China Market Access. He sits on the board of an NGO called Young in Prison and his interests include wine, rugby, golf, dinghy and offshore sailing.

For more information about investing in the Western Cape, please contact:

Judith Coetzee 
Tel: +27 21 487 8600
Email: judith@wesgro.co.za
Website: wesgro.co.za