(27 March 2008) Accelerate Cape Town, a business-led initiative which aims to fast-track long-term economic growth in the Cape Town region, was conceived in March 2007. From an idea spearheaded by KPMG, backed by seed capital provided by Old Mutual, Accelerate Cape Town today has 23 corporate members and ambitious plans to boost confidence and growth in the region.
CEO Guy Lundy is pleased with the support that Accelerate Cape Town is receiving from all sectors. “Cape Town can become the creative, cultural, academic and business hub of Africa. We offer a unique blend of quality lifestyle and business leadership found nowhere else in South Africa and we are arguably the country’s most cosmopolitan and diverse region.”
Within a year, 23 corporates have pledged their commitment to Accelerate Cape Town. These include Old Mutual, KPMG, BP South Africa, British American Tobacco, Chevron, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Weber Wentzel (incorporating Mallinicks), Pick n Pay, Murray & Roberts, Investec, media24, Ogilvy, Woolworths, Irvin & Johnson, Spur, Cadiz, Safmarine, Coronation Investments, Allan Gray, Nedbank, Pam Golding Properties, and JP Morgan. Tim Bashall, Chairman of Accelerate Cape Town and Executive Chairman of KPMG in the Western Cape, says “It is a vote of true confidence that leaders in every field – construction, banking, retail, finance and others – have supported Accelerate Cape Town and recognise the need for an interface between their organisations and other regional players, like academia and local and provincial government. With their support, we are well placed to ensure the Cape Town region harnesses its full potential.”
One of Accelerate Cape Town’s key roles is to bring together the most influential stakeholders in the city region to find solutions for long-term growth and competitiveness.. “We recently brought together the vice-chancellors of all four universities and a group of top businesspeople to discuss each others’ needs and roles and develop thinking about how to improve collaboration.. It’s obvious that a closer working relationship between our excellent universities and big business can only benefit the Cape region, much as it has benefited cities like Boston,” says Lundy. Following this groundbreaking meeting, organised together with the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) in March 2008, Accelerate Cape Town will continue to explore new ways business and academia can enter into greater synergy, including practical steps to promote Cape Town as a world-renowned centre of knowledge excellence.
Another Accelerate Cape Town project is the creation of an International Business Club in conjunction with the CTICC. “We need to provide for our business visitors as well as we do for our tourists. The aim of the CTIBC is to establish a permanent networking venue for local and international businesses, where new relationships can be forged and old ties renewed, especially around major events such as the 2010 World Cup,” explains Lundy. “
As part of being an intermediary between big business and government in the region, Accelerate Cape Town also hosted round table dinners with local business leaders and Mayor Helen Zille and Premier Ebrahim Rasool in October 2007. One of the main topics of discussion at the dinners was the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with businesses expressing uncertainty about how they can be involved. As it draws nearer, Accelerate Cape Town will be working to educate business leaders on how they can get involved and maximize the opportunities presented by the football showcase.
Immediate plans for Lundy and Accelerate Cape Town include travelling with the Homecoming Revolution to the United States in April to address South Africans living in America. Anecdotal evidence suggests that when ex-pats do return, they most often choose to re-settle in Cape Town, bringing their skills and international experience with them. Lundy will address South Africans in Chicago at the Kendall Institute and at the New York Stock Exchange as part of the premiere of Carol Pineau’s latest film, Africa Investment Horizons. From there he will take part in a World Bank Symposium in Washington DC. While in Washington, Lundy will also meet with South African Ambassador to the US Welile Nhlapo and present at a function hosted by the embassy. “These high-level meetings will expose Accelerate Cape Town to an international audience, and reassure them that our region is more than capable of withstanding the current wave of unnecessary pessimism. We have everything needed to compete globally”, says Lundy. “The outdoor lifestyle, the unique mix of cultures and the magnificent surroundings found in the Western Cape meld with top-notch universities, good infrastructure and a competitive corporate environment, making the region attractive to discerning professionals, as well as early retirees and postgraduate researchers. We have the potential to become the Barcelona, Oxford or Silicon Valley of South Africa.”
Accelerate Cape Town’s aims for the region will also receive international attention when Lundy chairs the Location Branding Conference in Athens in May. He will be the only South African speaker at the event. “The trend now is for cities to market and brand themselves as thoroughly as products do. The key is to develop an identity that all Capetonians can relate to – and which the rest of the world finds appealing. In Cape Town we must still have the discussion about who we are, what we stand for and what we want our city to become. Watch this space as Accelerate Cape Town tackles this issue in the coming months.”
After a year of establishing a solid base and securing more than 20 powerful and influential members with a shared vision, Accelerate Cape Town is poised to spend the next year reinforcing the Western Cape as the future creative business hub of Southern Africa. “Now that we have the solid support of key stakeholders and players in the region, we can seriously tackle our goal of turning Cape Town into a Southern Tiger; a region that takes on the world with inspiring leadership, vision and self-confidence,” concludes Lundy.
ENDS
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