Why Cape Town

Cape Town is the economic hub of the Western Cape Province, South Africa's second main economic centre and Africa's third main economic hub city. It serves as the regional manufacturing centre in the Western Cape. With the highest number of successful Information Technology companies in Africa, Cape Town is an important centre for the industry on the continent. The Western Cape is an important tourist region in South Africa. In 2010, over 1.5 million international tourists visited the area. The industries in which Cape Town has the most pronounced comparative advantage compared to the country as a whole are fishing, clothing and textiles, wood product manufacturing, electronics, furniture, hospitality, finance and business services.

Transport

The City of Cape Town provides a well-connected transport infrastructure system and is prioritizing extensive upgrades and investment in the improvement of public transport systems and transport linkages to increase the economic and social functionality of the City.

Airport

The Cape Town International Airport is a world-class airport, and is the second largest in South Africa.
In 2016, the airport was rated as the 22nd best airport in the world by Skytrax, improving four places from 2015.
In 2016, the airport was awarded the Best Airport in Africa and the Best Airport in Africa for Staff Service Excellence (Skytrax, 2016).
Two of the TripAdvisor Top 10 Africa Destinations in 2016 can be found in the Western Cape alone (TripAdvisor, 2016).
The Cape Town International Airport offers direct fl ights to nine international hubs and is expanding its global connectivity.

ICT Infrastructure

South Africa’s overall Information Communication Technology (ICT) market value is expected to grow at around 6%, to reach around ZAR128.5bn by 2018. South African internet users increased from 2.7 million people in 2008 to 24.5 million in 2013, showing high annual growth of 55%. Internet users are expected to reach 30.8 million and mobile subscriptions 78.4 million by 2018.

The ICT sector is well established in the City of Cape Town with the City having invested ZAR544m on broadband infrastructure to date as part of its broadband infrastructure project. This includes 789 kilometers of fibre-optic cable that has been installed in the City’s own duct network increasing the City’s bandwidth by approximately 3000 times. The additional capital budget expenditure in the 2015/16 financial year was estimated at ZAR236m. The resultant benefits are already evident with the City having saved ZAR3m in internet costs between January and May 2015. This improvement of infrastructure, together with incentives and world-class ICT companies, sets the scene for further growth of this sector in the Western Cape.

Industrial and Prime Office Space

Cape Town has evolved into a world-class business destination offering a quality and modern environment for business and innovation. Approximately 64 700m2 of building size construction is set to be complete by the end of 2016. Fast growing office locations in the City include the CBD, Bellville and Century City. Century City houses some of the most modern and exciting office space which is centered on green building and innovative design. Similarly, Claremont, an up market suburb, is a prominent node for offices and businesses, with a large presence of smaller businesses in the specialist sectors.

Industrial land

The City plays host to a number of industrial activities in different areas, including the Atlantis zoned industrial area which has been delineated a key development node offering an expanse of 1000 hectares of land. This includes a zone for noxious industry as well as an identified hub for manufacturing green technologies (Atlantis Green Technology Industrial Park). Other key industrial areas include Epping, the Airport Industria, and outlying areas along the N2, N1 and R300 highways.

Focus industries

Cape Town is a major center for Manufacturing, Leisure & Tourism, Financial & Insurance Services, Oil & Gas, Business Services, Agriculture & Farming, Renewable & Smart Energy, Creative, Marketing & Media, Engineering and Information Technology.

Learn about our Focus industries.