While he is currently based in the United States, Gregg Potter’s love for Cape Town is palpable. When he talks about the city, it is clear it is a place he has loved, tested and chosen to return to again and again. A writer, speaker and the founder of the International Institute on Collaboration, Gregg brings a curiosity and a distinctly human perspective to his role as an Invest Cape Town ambassador. His work intersects storytelling, social entrepreneurship and cross-cultural practice, a dynamic blend that positions him to translate the City’s quieter virtues into a compelling global narrative.
He is driven by the power of possibility; living in liminal spaces, launching ventures without guarantees and shifting conventional language. He’s also a working writer with a second book nearing completion, and a habitual walker who finds clarity on the city’s coastal paths and in its neighbourhood cafés.
With a BFA in Theatre Performance and a Master’s in Public Service from the Clinton School of Public Service, Gregg has built a career around forging connection. He combines the bracing candour of someone who’s seen many systems up close with the humility of a practitioner who truly believes in collaboration. During the pandemic, he reinvented his work when resources dried up, launching the International Institute on Collaboration; a project born from scarcity that now channels partnerships, creative enterprises and grassroots initiatives across communities.
Gregg’s pitch for Cape Town is refreshingly non-technical and rooted in the healing nature of the city. “When you come to Cape Town, you feel the ocean and the mountains doing a kind of work on you,” he says. He believes that Cape Town has a sincere energy, where the genuine and friendly nature of its people is just a way of life. This authenticity is an asset: “It draws a different kind of visitor and investor; people and organisations seeking meaning, resilience and culturally rooted entrepreneurship as much as financial returns,” he says.
Gregg’s ambitions as an ambassador over the next three years are pragmatic and extensive. He’d like to see more people, especially from the United States and North America, experience Cape Town first-hand. He leverages networks built through work with institutions like the Clinton School of Public Service to curate meaningful exchanges that move beyond tourism to partnership. He also aims to highlight Cape Town’s social innovation – from township enterprises to fair-trade tourism – so that global capital can connect with community-led projects. Lastly, he hopes to amplify the city’s wellness and creative economy, positioning it as a hub where culture, wellbeing and enterprise coexist.
Get in touch with Gregg Potter