Cape Town is Home to a Thriving Green Economy

South Africa’s evolving energy landscape is rapidly evolving, creating opportunities for ease of doing business for investors, financiers, project developers, component manufacturers and suppliers looking to invest in the energy services market. This is why Cape Town is often referred to as Africa’s “green economy hub”. Due to its location, it can easily tap into South Africa’s energy services and other green technology markets. 

On December 6, 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ), signaling significant growth potential for the Greentech sector. 

The Atlantis Special Economic Zone  

The city’s green economy has played a significant role in the establishment of the Atlantis SEZ. The epicentre attracts investors worldwide, offering them incentives and investment opportunities in Cape Town. In fact, the Atlantis SEZ is expected to attract approximately R3.7billion ($262 million US) in investment by 2035. The primary objective of the Atlantis SEZ is to unlock the underlying economic value of existing and underutilised infrastructure through the creation of a Greentech manufacturing hub.    

Wind turbines, solar panels, insulation, biofuels, electric vehicles, material recycling and green building materials are all examples of initiatives that could find a place here in the future. 

Why Invest In Cape Town’s Atlantis SEZ? 

Cape Town is a breeding ground for a green economy with several businesses having headquarters in the city. These businesses spanning various economic clusters such as solar photovoltaic manufacturing, electrical manufacturing, fuel supply, professional services, and supporting bodies. 

The green and sustainable approach to energy and Atlantis is perfectly suited to deliver this in the Western Cape. In fact, there are four, large-scale investors that are already fully operational in the Atlantis Greentech SEZ. 

There are also at least six more reasons for investor uptake in the Atlantis Special Economic Zone: 

• Atlantis provides a prime location with access to thoroughfares. 
• It features modern infrastructure, including a well-functioning harbour. 
• There is already a cluster of skilled (green) professionals in Cape Town. 
• An abundance of natural resources surrounds the city and the region. 
• Enterprises here have historically experienced low operational costs. 
• Cape Town offers businesses a good IT infrastructure and support.

Cape Town’s Renewable Industry Drive  

Skills development has been prioritised in Cape Town in order to ensure labour meets the needs of the businesses located in and around the metropolis. The youth, in particular, benefits from training, mentoring, and exposure to Greentech industries. The Atlantis SEZ encourages participation in the annual Renewable Energy Challenge and career expos encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. In fact, there is a large pool of candidates with varying levels of expertise, including unskilled, semi-skilled, technical, and professional individuals, making it an attractive destination for enterprises seeking to recruit top talent. Additionally, there are several other exciting key indicators worth considering which include: 

To further support investors and businesses in the green technology and renewable energy space, the City of Cape Town has provided a number of bodies to draw on for knowledge and expertise in this regard. Investors have access to extensive investment support through the investor encouragement ecosystem, which includes:  

• InvestSA One Stop Shop: Offers investor support on permits, licensing, and registration. 

• GreenCape: Which provides access and dedicated support and market intelligence to green economy sectors. 

• Wesgro: The official investment and trade promotion agency for the Western Cape. 

• SAREBI: A business incubator providing non-financial support to green entrepreneurs. 

• SARETEC: Which offers specialised industry-related and accredited training for the wind, and solar industries. 

In addition, The ASEZ also offers a number of incentives to further attract potential investors and encourage business expansion and investment opportunities in Cape Town. These include investors and tenants that are accessing attractive incentives in the form of tax relief and allowances, employment tax incentives, fast-tracked development approvals, fee exemptions and subsidies, including:

• Preferential corporate income tax
• Building allowance
• Employment tax incentives
• Value-added tax and customs reliefy.

Contact us for more information on Cape Town’s Greentech sector.