CAPE TOWN - Policymakers, business leaders and experts are expected to meet in Pretoria next week for the inaugural Tshwane Trade and Investment Summit to be held in an effort to promote the City of Tshwane as a preferred destination for the inflow of domestic and foreign investment.
According to City of Tshwane Mayor, Stevens Mokgalapa, the Tshwane Trade and Investment Summit (TTIS 2019), which will be held on September 17- 18 at the CSIR Convention Centre in Pretoria, is a meeting of minds from policymakers, business and experts, in an effort to meet the bold R10 billion investment target that the City set itself to achieve by the end of this term, and which is aligned to the National Development Plan and build-up to the upcoming Presidential Investment Conference on November 7-8.
The theme for the Summit is “Partnering for development: An investor-friendly capital city” and recognises that great things are never accomplished in isolation, they’re done by and through people-partnerships aimed at delivering economic growth and job creation, said Mokgalapa.
“To make Tshwane an attractive investment destination, we need to partner with other organisations, both public and private, for the benefit of our residents,” he said.
According to the City, the programme is geared towards showcasing bankable projects within five priority sectors that offer excellent investment opportunities, and which include agro-processing, energy, including renewable sources and property and construction, among others.
As the driving force behind these investments, Tshwane Economic Development Agency ( TEDA )chief executive Solly Mogaladi said he hopes to increase rand value of investments attracted to the City, increase exports from Tshwane and facilitate business-to-business linkages that will lead to new investments and jobs for the city.
“We will be showcasing 18 projects with an estimated value of over R126 billion and in excess of 700,000 job opportunities. These of course are short, medium to long-term projects. We will be releasing a project book that will give further details on these projects at the summit,” said Mokgalapa
“We recognise that we have set ourselves an audacious target, but we believe it is achievable. Our agency, the Tshwane Economic Development Agency has already secured 70% of that target. What this means is that we’re on track to deliver to the residents of our city. The inflow of investment will ultimately benefit them in terms of jobs and business opportunities," he added.