How business chamber can help revitalise Buffalo City Metro s magnetic attraction
Body needs to work closely with BCM, offer new products and services, says president Ettmayr
There is a burgeoning international trend for business chambers to radically change their funding models, from a purely subscription base to providing value-adding services and products. Covid-19 s crippling economic
’ impact might slash early GDP projections by 10%, or worse if a rumoured December regional lockdown is implemented.
With the threats of major restrictions in Eastern Cape, Border-Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB) members, many of them already in survival mode, might be forced to resign their memberships, reducing subscription fees.
The chamber s president,
’
Chris Ettmayr, at the year-end presentation last Friday, said for BKCOB to stay on a growth curve it had to benchmark itself against the top international chambers, and the way to do that was to offer new products and services, and work closely with BCM.
The chamber has several strong committees made up of members who volunteer their time.
These include employee relations, tourism and sport, energy and ITC, infrastructure and broad projects with municipalities and provincial government.
He said that for the chamber to thrive, so too must BCM. We have to do our part to “revitalise the city s magnetism,
’ drawing people and businesses here.
We need to pull in revenue “producers and wealth creators, not push them away. Hiring the youth must be a focus.”
Ettmayr, who holds a doctorate in economics, said the chamber had studied the recent KPMG Decline, Fightback, Victory
“report, produced in London,
” which looked at 200 magnetic cities.
The message, said Ettmayr, was that cities are like magnets; they can either attract or repel.
Top cities pull in new residents, visitors and business investment. They bring fresh money into the region.
Companies, attracted by the smell of success, open, and create new jobs. The snowball effect keeps rolling and growing.
The study, said Ettmayr, revealed that cities can reinvent themselves, switching their magnetic attraction from repel to attract.
Lessons from other cities show that East London s role
’ will not be as a major city, competing with Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and to a lesser extent Port Elizabeth.
Where it will have a strong role, based on the research s
’ findings, is in what is termed a strong, healthy and well-functioning second (non-capital) city. Smaller cities can offer a different pace and quality of life than the hustle and bustle of global and large capital cities.”
The study quotes several of the world s leading second
’ “cities that have cemented a
” position, not by taking on the giant cities but strengthening the magnetic pull of second “cities in order to give people and businesses a valid choice ”.
Ettmayr said the chamber could play a pivotal role in getting business and BCM to work together on several projects that could create the positive magnetic pull.
BKCOB could assist in areas that include facilitating export opportunities, reworking the inner city, infrastructure development by creating private public partnerships, revitalising the port by working closely with Transnet and pushing the upgrades, and putting fresh initiative in the promised undersea cable linking India to East London.
The chamber should, said Ettmayr, be a catalyst in turning around perception by measuring the results of a positive magnetic attraction that if successful, will change the city.
The report concludes that: Second cities will provide the “educational, cultural and occupational opportunities people seek.
Businesses still benefit from “large labour pools and local supply chains. And if designed and run well, they should be more environmentally efficient.
Social networks should be stronger and provide greater support. Yet today, many second cities are negative magnets.”