Stellenbosch: much more than wine farms

Town is becoming a hub for technology and innovation in Africa

STELLENBOSCH is a growing economic hub and attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth R2.8 billion in 2015. This emerged yesterday during Wesgro’s engagement with stakeholders from the Cape Winelands to discuss investment opportunities in Stellenbosch.

Wesgro is Cape Town and the Western Cape’s tourism, trade and investment agency.

The engagement was hosted by Wesgro chief executive Tim Harris, Stellenbosch mayor Gesie van Deventer and Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde. It followed a panel discussion in Cape Town in June on the province’s plan to maintain investor confidence in the region’s economy following the credit rating downgrades.

“We have achieved various strategic successes since our engagement in June and have been excited to share these opportunities with towns across the province. They have motivated us, and we will continue working with municipalities across the province to attract high levels of investment which grows the economy and creates jobs,” Harris said.

Van Deventer said although Stellenbosch was primarily known for its wine farms and agricultural facilities, the town was a developing into an innovation hub and was home to a number of start-ups and established businesses in the biotechnology sector. According to Wesgro: • Stellenbosch ranked third among African cities in fDi Intelligence’s study of locations for global biotechnology companies.

• The Winelands attracted seven FDI projects valued at R2.8bn in 2015, and all of these projects were located in Stellenbosch.

• Stellenbosch was a hub for emerging tourism businesses, and the International Congress and Convention Association had it ranked among the top 10 cities on the African continent for business meetings.

• Stellenbosch Municipality received clean audits from the Auditor-General in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years, and it was committed to cutting red tape for investors.

• The municipality was well integrated into the economy of the Cape Town metropole, and was surrounded by towns such as Paarl, Somerset West, Caledon and Wellington, placing it in the middle of a market of over 2 million people.

• Stellenbosch was the gateway to the Cape Winelands, and was only a 40-minute drive from Cape Town International Airport. Stellenbosch was the most requested wine route by international visitors, according to research conducted by Wesgro last year.

• The gross domestic product of the greater Winelands, which include Stellenbosch, grew from R33.3bn in 2006 to R43.2bn in 2015. The largest sectors were finance, real estate and business services, which contributed R10bn in 2015.

• According to the QS World University Rankings, Stellenbosch University was the second-best university in Africa. The university contributed towards innovation and business development in the region.