Statement by Alderman James Vos, The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunity and Asset Management

The City of Cape Town has been a proud host of the Africa Mining Indaba for the last 25 years.

It remains one of our signature annual conferences, directly bringing in revenue and trade, and indirectly creating goodwill and new partnerships. Between 2007 and 2015, the Africa Mining Indaba has injected about R610 million into the Cape region. Close to 5 000 employment opportunities have been created in the city throughout the period of hosting the event.

I had the pleasure of attending and interacting with the audience on the first day of the Mining Indaba. It was an honour to welcome delegates and to discuss the value of the Invest Cape Town initiative, the many possibilities and benefits of investing in the city.

The unrivalled networking is matched by an agenda that features His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, joined by His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, 35 mining ministers and the most influential people in African mining.

We are pleased that this year the Africa Mining Indaba has attracted the largest number of investors, mining executives and junior miners from across the globe for this leading deal-making forum. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Championing Africa’s Sustainable Economic Development.’

No other mining event provides this level of expertise and access to the entire value chain.

While we may have extremely limited mining activities in this part of the country, we are becoming a centre for global business that stretches beyond traditional boundaries.

The Mining Indaba is not only the largest mining event in Africa, but is also the world’s largest mining investment event.

Cape Town is increasingly being recognised as a valued investment destination.

One of our strategic priorities is to position Cape Town as a forward-looking globally competitive business city.

To this end, Invest Cape Town was launched. The initiative was the start of a process to develop a business brand narrative that emphasises the unique characteristics of the city-region.

Our Invest Cape Town initiative is the mechanism through which the business narrative of the City is being driven. It creates a platform for stakeholders to share successful investment and business case studies, data around sectors and information relating to investment. Invest Cape Town is designed to assist with growing the Cape Town economy.

It concerns itself with crafting an authentic narrative about what Cape Town stands for as an investment destination, building on the compelling success stories and competitive advantages of the destination.

The essence of the narrative is that Cape Town is a functional African hub where ideas come to life through the energy and ambition of its people.

The event organiser announced yesterday that they will be offering a bursary to a UCT student to carry out a study on the economic impact of this year’s event.

The conference has been one of the key drivers, alongside the City’s signature events, in establishing Cape Town as the World’s Leading Festivals and Events Destination (awarded at the World Travel Awards in December 2018).

I trust that the delegates will enjoy their stay and take time out to explore the natural beauty of our city.

Source: City Of Cape Town