A total budget of R713 million in the City’s draft budget for the 2022-’23 financial year is earmarked to grow the local economy by bolstering small businesses and industries in Cape Town.
James Vos, Mayco member for economic opportunities in the City, says this budget also plots to create access to more opportunities for Capetonians.
“Our goal to provide continued and greater backing to our small businesses and start-ups will take shape under the banner of enterprise development programmes through partners such as Productivity SA and the South African Renewable Energy Incubator and via City initiatives like The Business Hub,” he says.
Highlighted is the expansion and improvement of the e-permitting system for those working in the informal sector.
“The system will expand on our ability to support and engage the sector through smarter, interactive e-applications.
“Furthermore, capital expenditure over the next three years will provide dignified and accessible trading spaces with infrastructure such as Wi-Fi to make life easier for informal traders and their consumers.
“We will also continue to drive workforce development through programmes such as Jobs Connect and the Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator.
“In less than a year, these two projects have engaged more than 40 000 Capetonians,” says Vos.
Vos says the city’s tourism sector is a major generator of jobs and is vital to numerous other industries such as retail, hospitality and transport.
“As such, we will continue to drive initiatives that boost ‘tourismpreneurs’ through initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Development Manual, which is free and available in three languages.
This manual guides small businesses step by step on how to operate their platforms to being better tourism service providers.
“At the same time, we will further promote the metro as the ideal destination for travel in our partnership with Cape Town Tourism,” he says.
Vos says the City will further continue to raise awareness of Cape Town as an investment hub.
“Since 2018 R20,5 billion in investments and thousands of job opportunities have been unlocked in Cape Town. My goal with officials in the economic growth directorate is to build on this foundation for greater investment into the local economy.
“The City’s approach to the economy is both broad and sectoral because we understand that Cape Town is made up of diverse industries that offer a range of job and investment opportunities. Our main focus areas will be green technology, aviation and export promotion.
“We will further prioritise platforms that raise awareness of Cape Town as an investment hub.”
Vos says he believes the draft budget speaks to the City’s aim to make life easer for businesses while helping to unlock jobs.
