City courts Indian investors to boost trade, jobs for Cape Town
Investors, entrepreneurs and private and public sector leaders gathered in Cape Town for the three-day India-Africa Entrepreneurship and Investment Summit. Read more below:
With the City as a first-time sponsor, this is the sixth edition of the summit and the first time it is being hosted in Cape Town.
In a keynote address to delegates, Alderman James Vos, the Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, noted that bilateral trade between Africa and India reached a milestone in the 2024/2025 financial year when it surpassed US$100 billion, nearly doubling from $56 billion in 2019/2020.
‘Yet we are here because we know that this achievement could and should be the first of greater things. I’m particularly keen to see Cape Town play a feature role in hitting these milestones. Already, it appears that this is happening as shown by year-on-year growth of Indian exports to the Western Cape up a massive 72% in 2025.
‘This led to India being this province’s second-biggest import source market last year, accounting for 8,4% of the share of imports to the province. It is similarly worth noting that the province’s exports to India grew at an impressive average annual growth rate of 46,37% from 2020 to 2024,’ said Alderman Vos.
Foreign direct investment from Indian companies have also increasingly proven to be key enablers of jobs and economic growth in Cape Town.
‘Between 2015 and 2024, the Western Cape was boosted by 11 FDI projects from India, amounting to a total capex value of US$87,30 million (roughly R1,4 billion). A staggering 88% of those investments were in the tech services and call centre/ BPO sectors. I’ve had the pleasure and honour of engaging the leadership of many of these companies and my team and I have helped to facilitate these companies’ establishment in Cape Town,’ said Alderman Vos.
According to International Monetary Fund projections, India’s GDP will grow by 63,5% by 2031, making it the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
Alongside this, Indian outbound travel is forecasted to reach 39 million people by 2028, a massive jump on the 28,2 million international Indian travellers in 2023. Of those 28,2 million travellers, only 79,774 made their way to South Africa.
‘India’s outbound travel market, expansive consumer base, and investors presents a massive opportunity for Cape Town’s job creation efforts and economic growth aspirations. Last year I had the privilege of leading a City of Cape Town delegation to India, where we met with government leaders, tourism operators, airlines and business executives to strengthen our economic relationship.
‘We discussed opportunities to grow trade, attract more investment, increase tourism and encourage Indian companies to source products and services from Cape Town businesses. A key focus of those engagements was my ambition to see a direct flight between Cape Town and India. While there is still work to be done, we are actively building the partnerships and business case needed to make that a reality. Better connectivity will unlock even greater opportunities for trade, tourism, investment and job creation, and that is a goal I remain firmly committed to,’ said Alderman Vos.
